


Show Me Where the Sun Comes Through the Sky

by duskblue



Series: Weight of it All [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Endgame - Fix-it, Gen, Happy/May - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Iron Dad, Iron Family, Irondad, Let's all heal our hearts, May Parker (Spider-Man) & Tony Stark Coparenting Peter Parker, Morgan Stark is an adorable little sister, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is the best big brother, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), THIS IS A FIX-IT, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony/Pepper - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2020-03-02 12:39:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 75,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18811090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duskblue/pseuds/duskblue
Summary: Peter Parker is absolutely devastated in the two months since he's been back on Earth. He's struggling in school and at home, and Aunt May is very worried. He doesn't want to go on a vacation to Mr Stark's lake house to see Pepper and Morgan, but May doesn't leave it up to him, and on the last day of school, Happy is waiting to drive him there. What--or who--awaits him at the lake house, is not what he's expecting.But why is everything so secretive?Note:This is an End Game Fix-It. My heart couldn't take the actual ending, so I wrote this. It's basically canon divergence because Tony Stark is my favorite character, and I refuse to accept what happened.





	1. Weight of It All

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! I still plan on doing my bingo prompts, but I had to pause that and work on this after Endgame came out, because of obvious reasons. I'm four chapters in and writing this a little obsessively. I also have a post Homecoming fic in the works that I've been working on for a while, however that's on hold too while I work on this.
> 
> Note: The title is from Matt Nathanson's song, "Weight of it all."
> 
> Please let me know what you think!! <3
> 
> Come bother me on tumblr! [duskblue-art](https://duskblue-art.tumblr.com/)

Chapter 1 - Weight of It All

Peter Parker’s tired eyes are trying to focus on screwing in a tiny screw on the back of a circuit board, when there’s a loud knock on his door, and he fumbles it completely, the end, landing in a pile of metal scraps, and scattering them all over his desk. 

“Peter!” May’s voice calls. “You better not be soldering in there again! It smells like something’s burning!”

He isn’t currently soldering, but it’s not out of the realm of possibilities for later. What’s more likely, is that May is burning their dinner but hasn’t yet realized it. He lunges toward his backpack and grabs his history book, laying it on top of everything else before May can open the door. “No!” he says in mock outrage. “I’m studying for finals. Like I said I was.”

The door clicks open, and May stands there with her hand on her hip. “Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. And put all that other stuff away. I swear, it looks more like a junkyard in here than a bedroom.”

“Okay,” he agrees, but when she closes the door again, Peter slumps over his book, his face pressing painfully into the pages. Grief isn’t something new to either of them, but May doesn’t really get it exactly. Sure, she knows what it’s like to grieve, but she didn’t know Mr Stark as well as he did. She doesn’t get what Mr Stark meant to him. Also, she hasn’t had three father figures die in almost sixteen years. She can’t possibly know what that’s like. 

Most days, Peter just goes through the motions. His grades suffered a little at first, but now he’s got that back under control. Most nights, if he’s not taking things apart and putting them back together as new things, he’s swinging around Queens pretending like he’s okay or sobbing into his pillow, barely admitting to himself that he’s definitely not okay. Everyone says that he’ll move on eventually, but he can’t even imagine it. Mr Stark was just so important to him. No one gets it. No one.

He feels so isolated. Sure, occasionally he will hear from Happy, or Rhodey, but it’s not the same. He hasn’t heard from Pepper at all since he came home, but he figures that’s to be expected. If anyone understood at all what Peter was going through, it was Pepper and Morgan. Then again, he’s not sure how much Morgan really understood. He had been a little older than Morgan is when his parents died, and it was traumatic, but nothing at all like it was losing Ben or Mr Stark. Not even close. Maybe she won’t even remember him.

The thought makes him want to cry. But dinner is in a few minutes, so he bites his lip and sniffs back the tears. He doesn’t have time to think about how much he misses Mr Stark right now.

He’s just about to start cleaning up his desk when his phone buzzes, and he looks down at it. He’s not exactly surprised to see that Happy is calling. He’s just not in the mood to talk right now. If he picks up the call, he’s probably going to start crying. And he doesn’t want anyone to know how awful it’s been for him.

The phone stops vibrating and the screen goes black. A second or so later, it lights up again. Happy is calling back.

Peter sighs and picks up the phone. “Hey, Happy.”

“Are you okay? I haven’t heard from you in what--a week?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Peter says, but even to his own ears, he sounds depressed.

“You don’t sound fine. Look, kid. There’s this thing coming up in a week. I’ll pick you up from school on Wednesday. May says it’s your last day. She gave permission too, in case you’re wondering.”

Peter sniffs. “What kind of thing? A mission? Because I’m kind of on a break from official Avengers stuff... ”

“No, no,” Happy says, but sounds a little far off. “It’s more like… a retreat. Rhodey’s orders. He wants you there.”

“I don’t know,” Peter says quietly. “Where is it?”

“Undisclosed location,” is all Happy says.

Peter says nothing, just staring down at the words in his book until they blur.

“Come on, kid. Morgan misses you.”

Peter’s bottom lip trembles. He wants to yell about how much he misses Mr Stark, but he can’t do a fucking thing about it. And he feels selfish, because Mr Stark is Morgan’s real dad. “I gotta go,” he says, his voice nearly cracking. “I’ll think about it and text you later.”

“Okay,” Happy says, sounding defeated. “Talk to May about it.”

“Bye, Happy.” Peter disconnects the call without waiting for a response. He stands up from his desk and stares down at his phone for a long time before leaving it there and moving towards the kitchen where May is waiting for him. The table is set, and she’s just placing the plate of meatloaf in the center. Beside it is a bowlful of steamed broccoli, a pad of butter melting on top. The meatloaf is only a little burned, and it actually looks edible, but Peter isn’t hungry.

May, contrary to his mood, seems fairly chipper. “Did you talk to Happy? He said he was going to call you.”

He looks up at her, trying not glare. “Is everyone ganging up on me? He wouldn’t even tell me where it was. Something about an undisclosed location. What does that even mean?”

May turns to him from the counter. “He said I could tell you. It’s the lake house. Just don’t tell anyone else. Something about secret Avengers stuff, I don’t know.”

Peter doesn’t know how to reply at first. He can’t even believe that May would want him to go there so soon after Mr Stark’s death. He is barely functioning as it is. How in the hell is he going to be able to go there and keep any semblance of being okay? “I cannot go there,” he says between his teeth, biting back at his tears.

She’s taken aback and looks up at him from the glass of iced tea she just set beside his plate. “Peter. They’re your family, too. You need to see them. Spend time with them. I know you’re used to doing this all on your own. I am, too, but this is exactly what family is for. You need to lean on each other and help each other through it. Isn’t that what we did when Ben died?”

He sits down and stares at the meatloaf. The side facing him looks the least burnt, and he thinks that May put it that way on purpose. To trick him. 

“You should go,” she says when he says nothing. “Happy says that Morgan asks about you constantly. She wants to know when she can see you again.”

He bites his lip and blinks back the tears. “I’m not really hungry. Can I go back to my room?”

“No.” She cuts off a thick slice of the meatloaf for him and then spoons a bunch of broccoli on his plate. “You need to eat. And Happy is picking you up after school next Wednesday. We can pack your bag together.”

“I don’t want to go,” Peter says, not looking up from his food.

May serves herself and then sits down to eat. “It’s going to be good for you. I promise. Now eat. It’s getting cold.”

He reluctantly picks up his fork and cuts off a piece of meatloaf. His current appetite is bordering on non-existent. He knows May is worried about it, but it’s just so hard to eat when you feel like a part of you has died. When he puts the bite of meatloaf into his mouth and chews, it tastes okay, and he swallows it, but in his stomach it feels like a rock. He knows he has to eat, so he forces himself. But all he wants to do is crawl into bed and cry.

~*~

“Are you okay?” Ned asks on the last day of school. They just finished up their last class, and most everyone is loud and obnoxious in the hallway, talking about what they’re going to do on summer vacation and how much fun it’s going to be.

Peter feels gutted. “I’m fine,” he says, grabbing the last few scraps of paper out from the bottom of his locker and shoving them into his backpack.

“Do you want to come over later?” Ned asks, standing there while Peter zips up his backpack. “My mom said she’d order pizza. We can watch movies. You can spend the night if you want.”

Peter stands up. “I can’t. Sorry.”

“Why? What are you doing?” Ned motions like he’s shooting a web.

“No, not that.” Peter turns and begins to lead the way through all of the other students and towards the front of the school where he’s one hundred percent sure Happy is waiting for him. “I sort of got a thing.”

“What kind of a thing?” Ned is hurrying beside him. “Do you have a date? Dude!”

“No! Not that!” Peter says in a hushed voice. “Shh. It’s… I guess it’s Avengers stuff. I told May I didn’t want to go, but she’s making me.”

For a second, Ned looks like he’s going to go on a rant about how totally awesome that is, but then he deflates and just looks at Peter as they approach the door. “It’s still going to be fun, you know,” he says, putting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Those guys are all amazing.”

“Yeah,” Peter says, wishing this conversation would end. He hadn’t even wanted to bring it up in the first place. “I guess. May wouldn’t tell me how long I would be gone. So I guess I’ll text you when I find out.”

Ned pushes the door open. “Where will you be?”

Peter pretends he didn’t hear him. “I’ll text you. I gotta go. Happy’s waiting for me.” He gets away from Ned with a quick half hug and then dashes down the stairs to where a black Audi is parked by the curb. He doesn’t know why he’s rushing. He doesn’t want to get in the car, yet he doesn’t want to stay and talk to Ned about it either. Everything about this completely sucks.

He opens the back door of the car and tosses his backpack in, crawling in behind it and slamming the door shut. That’s when he notices his bag that he and May packed the night before is already sitting on the seat.

“Hey, don’t you want to sit up front?” Happy says when Peter meets his eyes in the rearview mirror. “I thought we were getting along.”

Peter doesn’t know why, but Happy has been weird since he got back. Maybe he’s used to Morgan, he doesn’t know, but it’s unsettling. “Happy. I always sit in the back. And then when I start talking, you close the divider. Don’t you remember?”

“I remember, but… I thought maybe we could talk. About stuff.”

Peter blinks at him. Talk about stuff? Definitely strange. “Tell me where you met me after I crashed the plane at Coney Island last year. I need to make sure it’s really you.”

“The boys bathroom at your school. It was disgusting. And that wasn’t last year. That was six years ago. Now are you going to get up front or not?”

Peter sighs and glances at his backpack before deciding to leave it there and then pushes open the door, moving to the front seat. The last thing he wants is to have a heart to heart with anyone these days, but Happy is being particularly nice to him, so he doesn’t want to act like a jerk. He settles in and puts on his seatbelt. “We don’t have to talk,” he mumbles when Happy pulls away from the curb. “I don’t mind sitting in silence.”

“Since when?” Happy asks.

 _Since my life was ripped out from underneath me,_ Peter thinks, but can’t imagine saying it. If he did, he would probably start to cry, and that’s his goal, he decides. Whatever happens, he will not cry in front of anyone at Mr Stark’s lake house.

“Okay, I get it,” Happy says in response to Peter’s silence. “You don’t have to talk. But I have some things I want to say. Then if you want to, you can reply to them. If not, that’s your decision, kid.”

“Why is my bag already in the car?” Peter asks, purposely changing the subject. “I assumed we’d pick it up on the way.”

“Oh,” Happy says, and it looks like there are little beads of sweat on his temple. “I thought I’d save time and pick it up for you. Your aunt says to make sure you eat enough and all that stuff that you’re probably sick of hearing.”

“Yeah, pretty sick of hearing that in particular…” Peter mutters, looking out the window and wishing he could escape this conversation.

“Well, you’re going to hear it a lot more,” Happy says, ignoring his wish. “I know several people at the lake house who are probably going to want to force feed you. One in particular. You’re looking really skinny, kid.”

Peter bites his tongue so he doesn’t make a snide comment back. But seriously, why does Happy think he’s not hungry anymore? He doesn’t know how Happy is so cheerful anyway. Didn’t Mr Stark mean anything to him? May says that everyone grieves differently, and he knows she’s right, but this is Mr Stark. He wants everyone to be just as miserable as he is, otherwise maybe they didn’t love him enough. Of course, it’s incredibly unreasonable, but he doesn’t even care at the moment.

“Anyway…” Happy says into the silence. “I was thinking maybe after this whole… retreat… is over with, you and I could hang out a little more. Like… I could still pick you up from school.”

This time, Peter looks over at him, appalled. “And where exactly would you take me?”

“Um, home?” Happy glances at him, and it’s clear that he’s a little shocked by the expression on his face.

“I can walk,” Peter says, turning back to the window. He knows he’s being stubborn, and it’s not Happy’s fault that Mr Stark is gone, but he would just like everyone to leave him alone. “There’s no point in picking me up anymore. Unless it’s for Avengers stuff, and I told you before. I’m on a break from that. Except apparently not for this because May is forcing me to go.”

“She just wants what’s best for you, Pete.”

This time, when he looks at Happy, he can barely see through his anger. “Don’t call me that. And how would you know what May wants anyway?”

Happy is glancing at him with his mouth half open, but Peter isn’t interested in hearing what he has to say.

“You know what? I decided I don’t want to talk.” He pulls his earbuds out of the front pocket of his backpack and plugs them into his phone, starting his music so he can try his best to pretend he’s not sitting in a car with Happy on his way to Mr Stark’s lake house, which is probably the last place he wants to be.

The drive is several hours, and Happy stops once to use the restroom and get some drinks. Peter has fallen asleep, so Happy nudges him awake and tells him to use the restroom before they get back on the road. When Peter gets back, Happy hands him a soda and a gas station cheeseburger. Probably as some sort of peace offering. Peter takes it mostly because he’s really thirsty and just a little bit hungry, but also because he’s starting to feel bad for how he acted earlier.

“Look.” Happy has his keys in his hand, but he’s not making a move to start the car. Instead, he waits until Peter looks up at him. “I know this is all really hard for you. But it’s going to be okay. I promise. Once we get there, you’re going to be glad you came. Alright?”

Peter twists the cap back on his soda and tries to think about other things so he won’t cry. He wants to tell Happy to stop telling him how he’s going to feel, but instead, he places the bottle in a cup holder and turns back to the window. “Yeah, sure,” he says dismissively, because saying anything else will definitely trigger a breakdown.

Happy pats his shoulder roughly a few times and then lets go to start the car. “Just hang in there, kid.”

It’s dark when the car stops again. Peter doesn’t really understand it, but he’s slept better in the car than he has in weeks. Maybe it has something to do with the constant movement? Maybe it distracts him from his thoughts, he doesn’t know. He yawns and stretches. He doesn’t really feel like putting on a smile and pretending everything’s okay. He hopes he can get into bed and try to sleep some more before tomorrow morning, but when he looks out the window, it becomes clear that that isn’t what’s going to happen. The house and the yard are lit up, and Peter can make out Pepper and Rhodey sitting on the porch. 

Then all of a sudden there’s two small hands slapping against his window, and he jumps, not expecting it. His senses are off because he hasn’t been eating or sleeping properly he knows, but when he sees Morgan’s sweet little face rising up between the hands, he knows he’s not in any physical danger. Emotional, maybe, but clearly no one here is going to protect him from that.

“Petey!” Morgan’s voice is muffled through the window.

Happy opens his door while Peter remains frozen in his seat. “Isn’t it after your bedtime, squirt?” Happy says to Morgan after he grabs Peter’s bags from the back seat. 

When he comes around the car, she momentarily attaches herself to his legs in a hug before letting go and moving back to where Peter is sitting. “You can come out!” she yells through the glass.

By the time Peter carefully opens the door so he won’t hit her, Happy is already up to the house, giving Pepper a hug, or rather, letting Pepper hug him. Peter feels his insides twist. Why, why why did May make him do this? But then Morgan is lifting her arms up to him like she wants to be picked up.

“Daddy told me you’re my big brother,” she says once he lifts her up easily into his arms. “He said that you’re so strong, you can carry me wherever you go. Is that true?”

“I guess it’s true,” he says, still a little in shock.

“Daddy can’t carry me anymore,” she says like it’s nothing. “ And Mommy is very, very busy all the time. So now it’s your job. Okay?”

“Okay,” Peter agrees, feeling numb while he makes his way to the house. 

Pepper rushes down the steps to pull the two of them into her arms. “I’m sorry, Peter,” she’s saying, her hand on the back of his head, and he thinks maybe she’s crying a little, which is not okay at all. He doesn’t want to cry, and if everyone else is crying, he’s not going to make it. Besides, what could she possibly be sorry for? 

“Mommy, don’t be sad!” Morgan says, patting her on the back. “Petey is here now, so you should be happy.”

“I _am_ happy, Morgan.” Pepper lets go of him a little to tuck a lock of dark hair behind Morgan’s ear. 

“I’m going to show him all my toys,” Morgan says, looking proud as can be. “I’m going to show him my treehouse, and we can play in my tent. I’ll even show him where Daddy hid all the good toys.”

“Yes, yes, you can show him everything. But tomorrow. I let you stay up until Peter got here, but now it’s time to go to bed. Uncle Happy is waiting for you.”

If Happy has been tucking Morgan into bed lately, Peter kind of gets how he was acting in the car earlier. He makes a point to apologize later for how he treated him. It’s just that this was all so hard. Morgan reminds him so much of Mr Stark, and while he loves her, it’s also painful.

Then there’s a crash inside the house, and Happy starts yelling. What’s coming out of his mouth isn’t exactly child friendly, so Pepper places one hand over Morgan’s ear and the other hand over Peter’s, as if Peter hasn’t heard those words before.

Rhodey opens the door and looks inside. “Are you okay in there? Oh… shit,” he says and rushes inside.

Pepper takes Morgan out of Peter’s arms and moves around the corner to see what’s going on. Her eyebrows go up in surprise for just a moment when she looks inside before her eyes narrow. “Oh, Lord. I swear, it’s always chaos around here. Peter, why don’t you sit down for a second. We wanted to talk to you first, but I have a feeling that’s not going to happen.”

But Peter doesn’t want to sit. To him, it sounded like Happy either fell down the stairs or tripped over something, Rhodey went to help him, but Rhodey’s legs aren’t the best, and if his braces break, then… well, that would be very bad. So Peter makes his way over to where Pepper is standing in front of the door, and peers around her shoulder inside. 

What he sees is almost enough for his legs to give out.


	2. Falling Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part of yesterday feels like a dream… the kind he wakes up from and spends the next half hour crying over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, everyone, for all the comments and kudos. I will finish replying to the comments from chapter one very soon. You're all amazing! I hope you like this chapter, too. I'm currently halfway through writing chapter 5. I hope to keep the pace up! Thanks again!
> 
> Note: I've decided all the chapter titles are going to be Matt Nathanson song titles. :D

Chapter 2 - Falling Apart

Mr Stark is sitting at the bottom of the stairs and waving a crutch at Happy. “It’s like I’m a prisoner in my own house. You told me Peter was coming. If you think for one second I’m not coming to see him, then you’ve got another thing coming.” He taps Happy with the crutch.

Pepper sets Morgan down so she can hold onto Peter, who didn’t realize it until she did, but he is dangerously close to collapsing on the threshold. 

Morgan grabs at the crutch. “Daddy, you said it’s not a toy! Stop hitting Uncle Happy right now!”

Mr Stark looks up then and sees Peter standing there beside his wife. “Pete!” he says, his eyes wide. “Come here.” When Peter can’t move, and no one helps him, Mr Stark raises his voice, “I need him here right now! Would one of you bring him to me?”

Pepper and Rhodey both help Peter into the house and to sit beside him on the stairs while Mr Stark kisses Morgan goodnight, and then Happy tugs her off reluctantly to bed. Mr Stark is not in good shape. His whole right arm is gone, his sleeve hanging limply where it had once been, and there are burns on the side of his head, but they’re healing, and he’s okay… _he’s okay._

It’s then that Peter realizes that his goal of not crying while he is there is completely ruined. Without even knowing it, tears have made path after path down his cheeks. Mr Stark props his crutch up against the banister and then wipes them away.

“Hey. Hey… it’s alright. I know this is… confusing. But it wasn’t up to me.” He guides Peter’s head down to his shoulder, his fingers weaving into the hair at the side of his head.  
Pepper pats Peter on his back before she and Rhodey whisper a little to one another and then walk away. 

“I was out for a long time,” Mr Stark goes on once they’re alone, “and then they had me pretty drugged up. It was really painful, I guess. I don’t remember much, and I definitely don’t remember anyone telling me they were going to cut off my arm. When I finally woke up, no one would give me my phone, and they disabled FRIDAY from every room in this house.”

Peter listens to his voice and his heartbeat, steady and strong in his ear, and just lets the silent tears run down his face.

“I guess this was some SHIELD idea. Faking my death. No one asked me. The only answers I’ve gotten so far are something about my safety. I don’t have the stones, obviously, but not everyone knows that, so I guess they want to make sure that no one comes after me when I’m… well, like this.”

Peter finally lets out a sob and puts his arms around Mr Stark’s middle.

“Gentle, gentle,” Mr Stark says, but his voice is quiet and soothing. “I’m still half broken. The SHIELD doctors said it’s a good thing it’s my right side, but it’s sure a pain in my ass. The nerve damage goes down my leg which makes it hard to walk, and I got some bad burns all the way from my head to my waist. Hey. you wanna help me out while you’re here?”

Peter nods against his collarbone. Honestly, at that point, he probably would do anything Mr Stark asked of him.

“I have all these plans to make this awesome arm, but you tell me how to do that with only one hand. Rhodey’s useless when it comes to that stuff, and you know I wouldn’t let Happy touch anything in the lab. It’s not Peppers thing, and maybe it’ll be Morgan’s, but she’s too little. I knew right away it was you who could help me with this. Plus, I’ve missed you so much during those five years, my heart physically hurts. And you know that’s a really bad thing. It’s had a pretty bad shock recently.”

Peter is sobbing so hard, he doesn’t know if he’ll ever be able to stop. It’s like a mixture of intense relief, followed by a little disbelief, and then the realization that he’s been so sad for what felt like so long when he didn’t have to be. He’s absolutely and utterly overwhelmed with emotion.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m alright.” Mr Stark wipes away more tears and then places his hand on the side of Peter’s head, holding it to his chest. “You’re okay, Pete. You’re okay. It’s gonna be alright. You’re here now, and we’re going to fix this. Right?”

Peter nods, but he thinks that his heart is already starting to repair itself. The immense grief that had covered him like a heavy blanket is starting to lift. It’s nighttime, and it’s dark, but Peter can see the light at the end of the tunnel if he squints. “I missed you so much,” he says, his voice teary and broken. “I know things are eventually supposed to get better, but they weren't. They weren’t, Mr Stark. You have to promise me you’ll never die, because I can’t do that again.”

“I’m so sorry, Pete. I’ll try to live forever. Okay?” 

Peter nods again. He’s composed enough now to wipe at his own tears, but he lets Mr Stark do it anyway. “I miss your other arm,” he ends up muttering.

Mr Stark laughs and rubs Peter’s shoulder to make up for his missing arm. “That arm saved the universe. I figure it can’t do anything better than that, so it needed to retire for good. Now let’s build a new arm so you and Morgan can get your hugs completely returned.”

“Okay.” Peter sniffs and nuzzles the side of his face underneath Mr Stark’s collarbone. “I made your shirt wet.”

“Do I look like I care about that?”

Peter shakes his head a little. “Just so you know, I’m staying here forever.”

“Okay,” Mr Stark agrees, patting his shoulder and then moving to rub comforting circles into his back. “We’ll figure out what you’ll do for school later. In the meantime, could we maybe move from the stairs? You might have to help me. If I do things on my own, people get really pissed off around here. You saw that earlier.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Peter says, and moves away from him, rubbing at his face until most of the tears are gone. “You tell me what to do.”

“Just spot me while I stand up. My right leg… it’s pretty much shit right now. And then if I fall, I can’t even catch myself. Pretty pathetic, huh?” When Mr Stark smiles at Peter, there’s a little sadness in his eyes.

Peter smiles a watery smile at him because he’s so happy. “No, you’re the most amazing person I know, Mr Stark.”

Mr Stark grins, the sadness vanishing. “Now I remember why I keep you around. You’re good for my ego. Okay ready?” He pulls himself up on the banister and then reaches for his crutch. “Okay,” he says again when he has it under his arm. “You put your arm around me and keep at my right, that’s it. Then we’ll just take it really slow.”

Peter holds him up a little while they start making their way towards the back of the house. “I could just pick you up. That might be easier,” he says after a minute.

“Don’t you dare, Parker. I’m supposed to be walking. It’s part of my physical therapy or whatever. One of the secret SHIELD doctors specifically said I have to keep walking so I can build my strength back up and my nerves can grow back easier. It feels like it’s taking them forever, to be honest. Ouch, be careful.”

Peter loosens his hold. “Sorry. You know, Morgan said you couldn’t carry her anymore. I thought it was because…”

Mr Stark stops and looks at him. “Because I wasn’t here? Mentally, I’m here. Physically… we still a long way to go. But I’ll get there. Ten years from now maybe.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Peter lets out in a rush when they finally reach a room at the back of the house that looks to be set up as a makeshift hospital room. Some things, like an IV pole, a heart monitor, and some other medical equipment, are pushed into the corner of the room, while other things, like a wheelchair and some light exercise equipment, are closer to the hospital bed in the center of the room. Beside the bed is a cozy looking recliner while several other smaller chairs are pushed up against the wall. Lastly, he sees his overnight bag and his backpack on the wall by the door, like Happy knew this is where he’d end up.

“And I’m glad you’re finally here,” Mr Stark says, lifting his hand from the crutch for a moment so he can brush a curl away from Peter’s forehead, much like Pepper had done earlier to Morgan’s hair. “Why don’t you bring me to the bathroom. I’ll be okay in there by myself, don’t worry--and then you can go grab the sandwiches that Pepper made you earlier and bring them back here. She knew you’d be hungry when you got here, and if I can say it, you’re looking a little too skinny, kid, so you better eat them up.”

“Okay,” Peter agrees, helping him to the ensuite bathroom. 

 

“Go on,” Mr Stark says, squeezing his arm. “I’ll be right here, I promise.”

Peter nods and allows him to close the door between them. And then he makes a break for the kitchen, running past the living room and almost knocking over a potted plant by the stairs. He stops to use the bathroom first, and then when he’s done, he quickly finds the plate of three giant sandwiches that Pepper left for him as well as a bottle of water. Not wasting any more time, he runs with them back to Mr Stark’s room, not really giving himself a chance to process much of anything. He sets the plate and the bottle down on a small table by Mr Stark’s bed, and then races back over to the bathroom so he can tap on the door. “I’m back. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Pete!” Mr Stark says, sounding a little muffled. Then Peter hears him spit in the sink. “I brush my teeth all the time all by myself. I want one sandwich gone by the time I get out of here. Is that clear?”

Peter runs back to the cozy recliner and reaches for the first sandwich. He has it gone in six bites which is pretty impressive considering how much Pepper stuffed inside each sandwich. It’s the fastest he’s eaten anything since before this all started. “Done!” he says loud enough so Mr Stark can hear him. “Tell me when you want help.”

He hears Mr Stark laugh from inside the bathroom. “Okay, kid. I’m ready.”

Peter rushes to open the door and then finishes helping Mr Stark into his bed. “Who usually helps you?” he asks once Mr Stark is situated with a blanket over his legs. 

“There’s a SHIELD approved nurse that comes during the day,” Mr Stark replies while he reaches for his Stark pad that’s laying on the bed by his left hip. “Otherwise, whoever is around. Trust me, they make sure I’m not left to my own devices. Tonight I’ve got you, which is definitely a vast improvement.” He winks at Peter and then nods to the tablet. “Pull up a chair and grab another sandwich, I want to show you something.”

Peter quickly and obediently does what he’s asked, and then when he begins devouring another sandwich, he looks at the tablet while Mr Stark turns the display to holographic, illuminating the highly detailed design of what Peter assumes is going to be his new arm.

“What do you think?”

“Whoa, it’s amazing!” Peter reaches forward and touches it, spinning it around so he can see all the angles. “You really want me to help you?”

“You’re the only one I trust in the lab,” he replies, tapping the image so that Peter can see the inner workings. “It’s been so long since we’ve done stuff like this together. And I miss it. I missed you, Pete.”

Peter wipes at a stray tear with his knuckle and sniffs, setting the remains of the sandwich down with the other that’s still left on the plate. “To me, it only feels like a few months. But those two months were definitely some of the worst in my life. I’m glad they’re over.”

Mr Stark swipes away the holographic design, and then taps a few things onto his tablet. Simultaneously, the lights dim. “They won’t let me have the internet or my phone, but they let me control the lights. I guess it’s something.”

“You can use my phone if you want.” Peter begins to reach around to his back pocket for his phone, but Mr Stark holds up his hand. 

“No, put that away. If I touch it, someone’s probably going to come in here and read me the riot act. Why don’t you climb up here, kid. There’s plenty of space, and we need to talk about something a little more serious. Yeah, come around on this side.”

Peter makes his way around the bed and climbs in on Mr Stark’s good side, where he quickly is gathered up against him. He doesn’t care how much he feels like a little kid. He curls into Mr Stark’s side and tucks his head under his chin. He notices for the first time that Mr Stark doesn’t smell like expensive cologne and motor oil anymore. Instead, he smells like what Peter assumes to be the salve that they’ve been putting on his burns and the peppermint from his toothpaste. It’s okay, it’s just different. Peter thinks if he can help Mr Stark with his physical therapy and building his new arm, then things will go back to normal sooner rather than later. 

“You’re a lot bigger than Morgan,” Mr Stark says, chuckling, the hairs on his chin tickling Peter’s forehead. “Listen, it’s going to go be okay, Pete, alright? There are just some complications to this whole fake dying thing. I need to explain a few things to you.”

“Like what?” Peter asks

“So… and I was not really with it for a lot of this process, so forgive me,” Mr Stark starts out while he gently rubs Peter’s back, “but SHIELD is keeping this whole thing a secret from almost everyone. Everyone we tell has to get special clearance. So far… that’s me, obviously, Pepper, Morgan, Happy, and Rhodey. Along with some SHIELD approved doctors and nurses to make sure I recover.”

Peter sniffs and tightens his hold on Mr Stark. He didn’t fail to notice that he wasn’t on that list, and he doesn’t know what that means.

“I’ve been asking for you since I was coherent, Pete,” Mr Stark’s voice cracks with sadness. “They wanted to keep the numbers down, and you’re a minor and can’t sign their stupid paperwork. Morgan gets a pass because Pepper and I are her parents. I tried to explain to them why you had to know, but they didn’t listen. No amount of threats or bribery convinced Fury to let me have my way.”

“So how come Happy brought me here?” Peter asks softly. He’s afraid if he speaks too loudly or moves too quickly, this will all disappear. 

Mr Stark’s hand stops moving on Peter’s back. “While I can’t convince Fury, I do have a little pull over Pepper. And Happy and Rhodey, of course. I convinced them that you needed to come here in secret. And we’re going to tell May too. Happy will drive back to the city tomorrow and explain it in person. It’s not the kind of thing you tell someone over the phone.”

Peter laughs, but it’s tearful. He’s definitely glad that no one is telling May over the phone. Mr Stark is right. It’s definitely something you say in person. He’s kind of upset that he can’t be on this approved SHIELD list or whatever, but part of him doesn’t even care. He’s got Mr Stark back, and that’s the most important thing.

“I’m sorry it took so long, bud.” Mr Stark’s hand resumes on his back. “It was kind of a long process to convince everyone, all in between therapy appointments and this awful nerve medicine they have me on that makes me really tired. Then we had to plan it, and Happy had to convince May to let you come without telling her the real reason. Then I was afraid you wouldn’t want to come, and I didn’t know what I would do after that. But it worked out, and here you are. We’ll just have to hang out in secret until you can sign those papers. Fury did say they’d reconsider when you turned eighteen.”

“That’s like a year and two months away,” Peter says, wiping at his eyes. “Or technically, if you go by my birth year, I’m turning twenty-two this year. But I guess they don’t take that into consideration.”

“Nope. Happy told me everyone affected is going to get a special mark on their identification. Passports, birth certificates, IDs. That way anyone IDing them will know that their physical age is five years less than their chronological age. So no alcohol until you’re physically twenty-one, buddy. And no signing important paperwork until you’re physically eighteen. Got it?”

“I heard that stuff, too,” Peter mumbles. “I just think it’s really stupid. I feel like I got cheated. I mean, I wish I could have been here with you and May and everyone else. I could have helped more, and then I could have held the gauntlet instead of you. I probably would have been okay. It’s not fair, Mr Stark!”

“Shh, shh,” Mr Stark hushes him and holds onto him a little tighter “It’s okay, Pete. Everything turned out okay, and I’m going to be just fine. What I learned with all of this is that we can’t really change the past. Besides, I never would have forgiven myself if you were hurt. Everyone’s okay, so let’s just focus on how to make the future amazing. Alright?”

Peter wipes at his tears again. He’s a little upset, but it’s nothing compared to how he felt just a short time ago. He’s comfortable curled up against Mr Stark’s side, and warm with happiness. Mr Stark is right. As long as everyone is okay, they can fix things that are broken--like Mr Stark’s arm and maybe even Peter’s crushing anxiety over losing him again. “Will you tell me what happened to Captain America?” he asks instead of giving a proper answer. 

“Yeah, if you swear to secrecy,” Mr Stark says softly. “ And maybe tomorrow because I think my favorite spider-kid needs some Z’s.”

“I’m your only spider-kid,” Peter says with a smile he couldn’t stop if he tried. 

“My _favorite_ spider-kid,” Mr Stark repeats and then shows Peter where the app on his tablet for the lights is. “That’s it. You’ve got it. You probably could have figured it out on your own. Now pull that blanket up over yourself so you don’t freeze.”

Peter sets the tablet down on Tony’s right side where there’s more room on the bed, and then reaches to pull the blanket up over himself. When he settles back down against Mr Stark in the darkness, he realizes that he’s going to have to actually think about everything that happened today, and he’s not sure he’ll be able to sleep much. “Mr Stark?” he says, pulling the blanket up to make sure that Mr Stark’s right side is covered too. 

“Yeah, Pete?”

He opens his eyes and blinks in the darkness. He’s used to city lights shining in on him and sirens and people talking. Everything is so dark and quiet here in the middle of nowhere. “I don’t know if I can sleep.”

“I’ve been told I’m excellent at bedtime stories,” Mr Stark says, a smile in his voice. “The source is very reliable.”

Peter smiles too because he has a feeling that the source is Morgan. He’s glad that someone besides him is getting to see Mr Stark’s softer side, and he’s even happier that Mr Stark still wants to share it with him. “You could tell me about Captain America. But only if it’s not sad.”

Mr Stark rubs his back. “Let’s save that one for tomorrow. I got something better. Did I ever tell you about the time I bought Pepper a giant stuffed animal?”

Peter closes his eyes and smiles. “I don’t think so.”

“You would have loved it.”

~*~

When Peter wakes up again, it’s still dark, but his eyes have adjusted a little better. He doesn’t remember the end of Mr Stark’s story, so either he’s really good at bedtime stories, or really bad at them, because apparently he fell asleep halfway through it. He’s still settled into the crook of Mr Stark’s arm, but he wants to look at his face to make sure everything is real. Part of yesterday feels like a dream… the kind he wakes up from and spends the next half hour crying over.

It’s then that he realizes that something much heavier than a blanket is half on him and half on Mr Stark. In fact, a tiny little person has seemingly climbed up on the bed while they were sleeping and wedged herself in between them.

Morgan shifts and then sits up a little, rubbing her eyes. She must have woken up when Peter moved. “Petey?” She says drowsily, scooting up a little until she can rest against his chest. “Did you have a bad dream? I was sad when I saw you crying earlier.”

“No bad dream here,” Peter whispers so he won’t wake Mr Stark up. “I just haven’t seen your dad in a long time, and I was really happy to see him.”

“Was it five years?” Morgan asks, her big brown eyes wide. “Or does it have to do with all the secret stuff the adults are always talking about? Grown ups are always talking about boring things that don’t really make sense. Did you notice that?”

Peter smiles because he doesn’t know which question to answer first. But instead, he’s saved by the bell when Mr Stark wakes up. “What is this, a slumber party?” he asks, sounding groggy. 

Peter sits up, still holding onto Morgan so he can get his arm free. 

“Daddy, Petey is sad so I was trying to tell him that everything is ok. But you interrupted us.”

Mr Stark is looking between them with soft, proud eyes before he schools his expression into one of mock offense. “How rude of me to interrupt a conversation in my own bed! How do you think I should be punished?”

Both Peter and Morgan giggle at him. 

“No candy for a week,” Morgan says as soon as she composes herself. 

“I was going to say no coffee for a week, but candy works, too,” Peter says, leaning back into Mr Stark while Morgan cuddles against the two of them. 

“My two favorite things,” Mr Stark says, putting his arm back around Peter and kissing the top of Morgan’s head. “Coffee and candy. My kids know me so well.”

Peter’s heart swells. May was right when she said this was his family, too. He knew it then, and he knows it now. It’s just that without Mr Stark, it didn’t feel the same. Before he can even think about stopping it, more tears fall down his cheeks. And then Morgan is wiping them away with her little fingers.

“Don’t cry, Petey. I won’t actually take the candy away,” she says, hugging him once she’s wiped away every single tear. “And coffee is gross. Have you tried it? Daddy let me try it once. You can try it in the morning if you want, but I promise you’re not going to like it.”

Mr Stark is sniffing, too. “I really need my other arm, Pete. Morgan is doing a better job comforting you than I am. It’s pathetic.”

“I’m okay,” Peter says, his voice cracking. “I’m actually happy. I’m so happy I’m willing to pass up hot chocolate and try your coffee. And I would smile doing it.”

Morgan pats him on the back. “You must be really happy then. I don’t think I could ever be that happy,” she says, her voice serious. “Petey?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re my brother, right?” Morgan asks, sounding sleepy. 

Peter can see Mr Stark smiling at him, his eyes shining, so he smiles, too, and puts his hand on Morgan’s back, securing her to his chest. “Yeah, of course I’m your brother,” he says. “That is, if you want a big brother.”

She yawns, snuggling deeper into his embrace. “I’ve always wanted a big brother,” she mutters into his t-shirt. “You were always just in pictures and videos though.” Her voice trails off, and then she stills, breathing evenly. 

Peter is jealous that she can fall asleep so quickly. He has been trying to sleep since he got back from Titan and only wishes it had been that easy. But all of those feelings are quickly overridden by the overwhelming happiness he feels. Since Morgan has completely passed out, and Tony’s only remaining arm is wrapped securely around him, Peter is left to wipe at his own tears while he tries not to jostle Morgan too much. 

“Are you okay?” Mr Stark asks softly. “She’s incredibly honest with her feelings. It took me a while to get used to it.”

Peter sniffs and tries to get a handle on his tears. “I’m okay. It’s just that I didn’t realize you talked about me while I was gone.”

Mr Stark blinks at him, looking a little surprised. “Are you kidding me? I told her all about you. Those awesome bedtime stories I mentioned? Some of them were about you. She used to ask me all these questions about you. I didn’t know all the answers, so I made up some. If she asks, you love eating vegetables. That’s your favorite food.”

Peter looks at him, appalled. “Mr Stark! Vegetables? Seriously? You know that I like pizza and ice cream best.”

He shrugs, grinning. “You try and get a four year old to eat her peas. It’s very difficult.”

“I hate peas!” Peter says, wrinkling his nose. 

Mr Stark just laughs. “Shh, don’t let her hear you say that!”

Peter laughs, too, leaning back and resting his head on Mr Stark’s shoulder. “No promises,” he says, tucking his head so that he can hear Mr Stark’s heart beating. This is the best way to fall asleep, he decides. If he can listen to Mr Stark’s heart, he can definitely rest assured that the man is okay.


	3. Suspended

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Whoa, whoa!” Mr Stark says, his smile reaching his eyes. “No running in the house! Morgan, tell him what happens if you run in the house.”
> 
> “A time out,” Morgan says, sadly. “But maybe since you didn’t know, it’ll be okay.” She jumps up, setting her art on the coffee table before she hurries over to Peter, beckoning him to bend down. When he does, she whispers, “If Daddy doesn’t see you, it doesn’t count!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! I love all your comments! They make my day! I'm going to reply to the ones that I haven't gotten to in just a second here. Thank you so much for all your feedback and kudos!! It means the world! <3
> 
> I just finished chapter 6. I'm trying to stay three ahead and shooting to update 1-2 times a week. Please continue to let me know what you think!! <3
> 
> My tumblr: [duskblue-art](https://duskblue-art.tumblr.com)

Chapter 3 - Suspended

Early that morning, before anyone else is awake, Happy quietly packs an overnight bag just in case, and then leaves the house, making as little noise as possible. He wants to get a good start on his drive back to the city so that he can catch May before she leaves for her shift at work. Last night, he had texted her to let her know that Peter arrived safely and all was well, but not much else. 

He has known about Tony’s recovery from almost the beginning, and even so, these past two months have been pretty hard on him. And though he had never been so happy to reunite the kid with Tony, he’s still freaking out about telling May. She’ll probably kill him, if he’s honest. And really, that might be easier than the alternative.

He spends most of the drive going over what he’s going to say to her in his head and trying to anticipate her response. By the time he gets there, it’s mid morning, and when he calls her to tell her he’s here, she’s of course surprised. He hadn’t told her he was coming, after all.

He’s sweating by the time he gets up the stairs, not only from climbing seven flights, but also because he’s just a bit terrified. What makes matters worse is that the second she opens the door, she practically throws herself at him, kissing him so soundly, that his knees go weak. Then, without warning, he’s being pulled inside.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?” she asks, her hands on his chest, flattening out the wrinkles in his shirt. “Peter’s okay? Is Pepper there making sure he eats?”

“I should have told you. Sorry.” He smiles guiltily and drops his bag by the door, his hands falling to her waist. “And Peter is fine. The drive down was a little rough. He didn’t want to talk, and he was… well, he was very angry. But he’s okay now, I think. And yes, Pepper will definitely make sure he eats.”

May smiles at him, the weight of Peter’s well being now off her shoulders. She puts her finger to his lips and grins. “Did you come because we have the house to ourselves? Be honest, Happy.”

He would have loved to tell her that yes, that is the exact reason, and then kiss her like he has in the past, not worrying about if Peter was going to climb through the window at any moment. It’s not that he was upset that Peter was back. He was actually pretty thrilled about it--he had legitimately missed the kid. And given that it had been him dealing with Tony, and then May as well, it definitely wasn’t easy. He just wishes that they could tell Peter about all the things that have happened while he was gone. Happy is just waiting on May for that, but it’s really hard. 

“Actually,” he starts, “there’s something else we kind of need to talk about. It’s kind of a big deal, and you’re probably going to be pretty mad at me about it, so I think we should sit down. In the living room. Where there are no knives.”

The smile falls off her face. “Are you breaking up with me?”

Happy almost laughs. “Are you kidding me? Why would I ever break up with you? You’re amazing, May. The most beautiful, kind, and definitely the most entertaining woman I’ve ever met. I would have to be certifiably insane before I broke up with you.”

She gives him the side eye before reluctantly pulling him into the living room where they sit down together on the couch. “That sounds like you’re buttering me up for something awful. Be straight with me, Happy. Is Peter really okay? He hasn’t texted me since yesterday when he was at lunch.”

“Well, about that…” he starts.

“You did pick Peter up after school yesterday and bring him to Tony’s lake house. Right?” she says before he can finish the thought.

“What? Of course I did! Peter is safe at the lake house. Pepper and Rhodey are there. So is Morgan. Probably monopolizing his time.”

“Then what is it?” May looks exasperated. Her knees are touching his leg, and he looks down at them briefly before putting his hand over one of them and squeezing.

“Please understand that up until this point, I had signed government documents about this,” Happy says, looking up to meet her eyes. “I’m still not supposed to say anything. You and Peter are not supposed to know anything about it. But… as time went on, it became clear that that wasn’t working out at all, so as a group--a family--we decided to tell the two of you what’s going on.”

May’s face is blank for a moment, and then she’s blinking at him, waiting, already looking a little angry. 

“Tony is alive,” Happy says, not able to postpone it any longer. 

“ _What?_ ” she almost yells and then takes in a breath before letting it out shakily. “I’m sorry. I thought you just said that Tony Stark was alive.”

He braces himself for a possible blow. “That’s what I did say. He’s been recovering at his lake house. SHIELD has been all over this whole thing like a disease and are only allowing us to tell certain people. You should have seen him, May. He was beside himself when they wouldn’t allow him to tell Peter. Please, don’t be mad at him. He did everything he could. And when he couldn’t convince Fury, he decided he was going to tell Peter anyway. Of course the rest of us weren’t exactly happy about that, considering we had signed legal documents saying we wouldn’t tell anyone else. So then that took a little longer… but you know Tony. He always gets what he wants.”

May is staring at him like he has two heads. “Please forgive me,” she says, her voice shaking with anger. “I thought you just said you’ve witnessed my nephew in pain and suffering from extreme grief, yet you kept the one thing from him that would have stopped it.”

If Happy thought he was sweating before, he was mistaken. Because May’s eyes are boring holes into his soul now. “A legal document, May!” he says. It had been part of his original speech, but that’s basically forgotten, so now he’s resorted to throwing out key phrases from it. He’s watching her closely, waiting for some sort of reaction, but she’s just staring at him, her face getting redder and redder and her eyes filling up with tears. This is bad. Really bad.

“You saw how devastated he was!” she says when the tears finally spill over onto her cheeks. “I told you how he was struggling, waking up with nightmares that I couldn’t help him with, shutting everyone out, and the not eating thing! My God, Happy, I was so worried! I just can’t believe you knew this whole time, and you didn’t tell us!”

“No, no,” Happy says holding up his hands in half defense and half surrender. “I didn’t know the whole time. I thought he was dead at the funeral just like you did. It was the weekend after that they told me. And believe me, May, I wanted to tell you two. But Fury was threatening us. He still is. If he finds out I told you, I’ll probably be locked up in some facility for the rest of my life. And now that you know, you’re in danger from that too. What Tony decided is putting us all in danger. But no one had the heart to tell him no. Especially me.”

May is wiping at her tears. She doesn’t look so murderous anymore, but Happy knows that it’s going to take more than a few apologizes to make her warm up to him again. He knows from the five years that Peter was gone how much family means to her. It’s one of the reasons he loves her so much, but in this case, it may just bite him in the ass.

“I’m going to need some time to process this,” she finally says, turning away from him.

He lets his hands fall back to his lap in semi defeat. “I’m sorry, May. I really am. All of us would do anything we could for Peter. Telling him this without SHIELD’s permission was a big decision. And it’s going to be a hard secret to keep. But Tony is the boss, as usual, so what he says goes.”

“You should have come to me first,” she says, grabbing a tissue from the coffee table and blowing her nose. “A long time ago. Then we could have all decided together. I don’t blame Tony for wanting Peter with him, but he should have asked me first.”

“That was all kind of complicated,” Happy says gently. “And… he was a man on a mission. You know how he gets.”

May turns her head to look at him, her eyes glassy with tears, but her gaze severe. “You keep putting this back on Tony, but it was you, Happy, who knew what we were going through and didn’t say anything. Don’t even bother to ask me if I’m mad.” She stands up and looks at him for a moment. “You know the answer. Please, let yourself out. I’ll call you when I’ve sorted this all out in my head. Spoiler alert, it might not be good for you.”

“Wait, May, please!” Happy stands up to reach for her wrist, but she moves away from him. “Can you just sit down for second longer? I need tell you some other stuff. There are rules about this.”

“I don’t think the rules apply to me,” she says, taking another step away. “I didn’t sign any government paperwork, did I? This is all on you, Happy.”

“And Tony, and Pepper, and Morgan,” he quickly adds to the list. “And most of all Peter. We have to be really careful to keep this secret. Will you please just listen to me for a second?”

She stares at him with hard eyes for a moment, and then sighs, moving back to the couch where she sits at the complete opposite end and crosses not only her legs, but her arms over her chest, completely closed off. “Fine. I’m listening.”

Happy sits down too, a little closer to the center of the couch than he had been sitting before. “This would have been a hell of a lot easier to keep a secret if Tony hadn’t thrown such a fit about it, but I’m pretty sure my movements and devices are being monitored. They can’t monitor Peter because he’s a minor, so don’t worry about that, but you are fair game. I’m pretty sure they know about…” he gestures between them, “so don’t talk to me or Peter or Pepper or anyone on your phone. Calling and texting is out when it comes to this matter.”

May lets her arms relax. The expression on her face is one of anguish. “How can they do this? They’re messing with people’s lives.”

“I know, I know,” he says, and he wants so much to scoot across the couch to comfort her, but he doesn’t. Instead, he takes in a breath and then lets it out slowly. “It’s really awful, but they’re doing it for Tony’s safety. He doesn’t like it at all, so he’s not really cooperative. It’s a mess. I think getting Peter there was the only thing that’s made him calm down a little. That, and he’s physically not able to do too much yet. I don’t know what they’re planning to do when he’s recovered.”

May wipes her eyes again. “I need to talk to Peter. I need to make sure he’s okay.”

“He’s fine,” Happy assures her, pulling out his phone and tapping on the screen a few times before turning it around so she can see the photo he took. It’s dark, but in the photo, Peter and Morgan are both cuddled up next to Tony on his hospital bed. “See? I checked in on him before I left.”

A little smile flickers at the corner of May’s mouth for a moment. “He’s sleeping,” she says, taking the phone and studying the photo. “And he looks peaceful. No nightmares.”

“Don’t worry about him. I’m sure he’s going to be stuck to Tony like glue. Tony wants Peter to help him build a new arm. He hasn’t shut up about it for a week. Now that Peter’s there, I don’t have to listen to it anymore, which is also good news.”

May is still staring down at the photo. To Happy, it looks like she’s memorizing every detail. “I suppose you can’t send this to me,” she says at last.

“Sorry. I’m not even supposed to be taking photos of him, much less with Peter. I’ll have to delete it.” Happy takes his phone back when she holds it out. “It’s going to be alright, though. We’ll just be really careful. I can keep sneaking Peter to visit him. I think that’s best for everyone. I just wish SHEILD saw it that way. Bunch of insensitive assholes if you ask me.”

Her mouth is in a line, and she looks at him, unblinking. “Maybe you should consider joining them then.”

His resolve cracks and reaches for her hand. “May,” he says, finally getting possession of her fingers. “Come on, May. I didn’t do this because I wanted to. My heart was breaking for that kid, too. Do you think I’d even be telling you at all if I didn’t care?”

She doesn’t look away--just gazes down at him with watery eyes—and then her shoulders slump as her tears fall once more. “Okay. I know,” she says, dabbing her eyes with the tissue again. “It’s just been so hard watching him go through all that again. First with his parents, and then Ben… and it was breaking him. I just wish I could have spared him that.”

“I’m sorry,” Happy says again, daring to scoot towards her on the couch. “But he’ll be okay now. It’s gonna suck with the whole secrecy stuff, but he’s gonna be okay.” When she finally lets him pull her into his arms, he lets out his breath. “It’s going to be okay,” he says again.

~*~

When Peter wakes up, he’s alone. He’s lying in the center of Mr Stark’s hospital bed, and the blankets are tucked all around him. Part of him starts to panic. He’s pretty sure he didn’t dream the night before--it had felt so real--but he’s had dreams like that before. This one seems different, and if he had been dreaming, wouldn’t he be in his bed at home? Or at the very least, wouldn’t he be in a guest room at Mr Stark’s lake house?

Then he sees Mr Stark’s tablet lying by his side, and he snakes an arm out of the blankets to pick it up. When he touches it, a message pops up. 

_Breakfast is ready when you are. Morgan picked waffles.  
-TS_

Peter grins, because he now knows that it wasn’t a dream. He’s going to get up and go into the living room, and Mr Stark is going to be there waiting for him. He sets the tablet down and then practically leaps out of bed, grabbing his overnight bag from the floor and dashing to the bathroom. He’s worn the same clothes for over twenty four hours, so he quickly changes, uses the restroom, and brushes his teeth. In record time, he’s running into the living room.

Mr Stark is sitting on the couch, the wheelchair off to the side, while Morgan sits beside him, coloring a picture intently. When they see Peter skid to a stop in his clean socks, they both look up at him.

“Whoa, whoa!” Mr Stark says, his smile reaching his eyes. “No running in the house! Morgan, tell him what happens if you run in the house.”

“A time out,” Morgan says, sadly. “But maybe since you didn’t know, it’ll be okay.” She jumps up, setting her art on the coffee table before she hurries over to Peter, beckoning him to bend down. When he does, she whispers, “If Daddy doesn’t see you, it doesn’t count!”

Peter lets out a laugh, taking her hand and letting her pull him to the couch.

“You sit here,” she says, practically pushing him in the seat beside her dad. Peter is thinking she’s being awfully nice to give him her spot, but then she climbs up, wedging herself in between them. “Will you hand me my notebook? I want to show you my pictures. Daddy says I’m very talented.”

Mr Stark sips at his coffee and winks at Peter from over the top of his mug. 

Peter reaches for the notebook and waits while Morgan flips through the pages. 

“Look!” she says, stopping on one that’s clearly Spider-Man. “This is you! See? I drew you swinging. There’s the bad guys on the ground with all the webs around them. Daddy showed me your videos. You’re the coolest big brother ever.”

Peter grins and puts his arms around her, squeezing her tight. “And you’re the coolest little sister ever. And probably the most talented little sister ever, too. Your dad is right.”

Morgan looks up at him. “ _Our_ dad,” she corrects.

Peter meets Tony’s smiling eyes, but before either one of them can say anything, Pepper enters in from the kitchen carrying a plate stacked with two huge belgian waffles, strawberries, and whipped cream, and in her other hand, she has a big glass of orange juice. “Good morning, Peter!” she says, setting everything down on the coffee table, trying to avoid the crayons. “I heard you getting up so I got started. You’re the last one to eat, but don’t worry. Your aunt told me you haven’t been sleeping well, so we didn’t want to wake you.”

Peter’s eyes are drawn toward the waffles. He didn’t realize how hungry he was until he saw them, but he’s absolutely starving. 

Pepper is still holding onto his silverware and smiling down at him. “Before you eat,” she says, “Why don’t you go plug your phone in? Your aunt wants to call you later.”

“Oh no!” Peter reaches around for his phone. He had just shoved it into his fresh pair of jeans earlier without even looking at it. “I forgot to tell her I made it here safely,” he says, smiling at Pepper. “Will you tell her I’m okay? Does she know about…”

Pepper smiles. “She knows. Happy told her this morning. Look, Peter.” She glances at Mr Stark and then looks back at Peter. “We should talk about some things. Why don’t you go grab your charger and plug your phone in, and I’ll bring Morgan outside to sit with Rhodey on the porch. Then when we both get back here, we can talk.”

“Okay,” Peter agrees. 

“No, Mommy,” Morgan says when Pepper reaches for her. “I want to stay here with Petey!” 

“You’ll have plenty of time to play later on,” Pepper says, picking her up anyway. “He’s not going anywhere.”

Peter and Mr Stark watch them leave, and then Mr Stark turns to Peter, sighing. “Do you see how they talk like I’m not even in the room?” he says to Peter. “You and Morgan are the only ones who don’t do that. Sometimes I feel like I really did die.”

This thought alarms Peter so much, and he throws his arms around Mr Stark’s middle. “Please don’t say that.”

Mr Stark doesn’t say anything for what feels like forever. He just puts his hand on Peter’s back and breathes. “Can you talk to me, kid? You know, like how you used to? I know it’s hard to get a word in with Morgan’s chattering, but I need you to talk to me.”

“Okay, Mr Stark,” Peter mumbles into his t-shirt. It occurs to him for the first time that even though Mr Stark is alive, he may not be one hundred percent okay. Losing a limb as well as his mobility had to be life changing for him. And that’s not even touching on the fact that it seems a little like his loved ones are holding him hostage. Peter thinks back to some of the things that Mr Stark has said just in the short time he’s been there, and it’s a little alarming. He wants to help but he doesn’t know how. “I promise we can talk a ton,” he says, still holding on tight. “But I should probably plug my phone in before Miss Potts gets back.”

Mr Stark sighs, rubbing his back. “She’s the boss. Just come right back here, okay?”

Peter doesn't want to get up from the couch, but he also doesn't want to upset his aunt more than he apparently already has, so he pulls away from Mr Stark and goes to do what he's told. When he gets back, he makes a trip to the kitchen to fill up Mr Stark’s coffee mug, and then sits down to eat before Pepper returns.

"So do you want to tell me about what you've been up to since you've been back? Any crazy stories?" Mr Stark asks once Peter's a good fourth into his waffles.

Peter freezes for a second and then turns to look at him. "Um... it's kinda been a rough two months. I've been a little preoccupied." That’s an understatement. He’s been so preoccupied that he’s not sure he remembers anything else of significance. “School is out,” he says. “They combined my grades from the partial year I did before to the last two months of this year. It was just about a full year all together, so it worked out. I got all A’s and one A minus. The A minus was in English. I had a hard time reading when I got back.”

“I’m proud of you,” Mr Stark says before sipping at his steaming hot coffee. “If Morgan turns out to be half as amazing as you, I’d be thrilled.”

Peter hides his blush behind his glass of orange juice. “Thanks, Mr Stark. But she’s already amazing. She’s probably already smarter than me.”

“Amazing, of course. Smarter, definitely not yet. Plus, she’s got my genes, so that means you’re going to have to do double time to make sure she doesn’t make any stupid decisions. She needs a big brother like you.”

“She’ll still have you,” Peter says because he doesn’t like to think of a world without him.

“She needs all the help she can get.” Mr Stark hands Peter his mug so he can set it on the coffee table.

Peter sets it down and then grabs his plate before sitting back in the couch cushions beside him. Mr Stark is swiping a strawberry from his plate when Pepper comes around the corner and sits down on the other side of her husband.

“Sorry that took so long,” she says, pulling her legs up onto the couch and facing them both a little. “Morgan won’t stop talking about you, Peter. I think you found your biggest fan.”

“Oh, no,” Mr Stark says. “She can’t surpass me. It’s not possible.”

Pepper smiles fondly at him. “I’m pretty sure that’s accurate,” she says, patting his knee before looking at Peter. “Look, Peter. I know this has been a lot of information for you to process in the last twenty-four hours, but we need to talk about some things. Tony is not one for following rules, as you probably know, so I need to make some things clear.”

Peter looks up from his waffles and swallows his mouthful. Pepper’s waffles are ten times better than May’s, and he wants to make sure to eat every bite. 

“Oh, geez, Pep,” Mr Stark says, groaning. “Let him eat his breakfast first.”

She fixes him with a stern look. “This is serious. You may not like it, but you fought tooth and nail for this to happen, so now everyone has to follow the ground rules we discussed.”

“Discussed? We didn’t discuss any rules. You and Rhodey came up with them all, and then told me about them. How is that discussing?”

Peter uses the extra time to shove in the last few bites of his waffle, and then he leans forward to put his dish back on the coffee table. “I like rules,” he says when he leans back again, trying to be agreeable.

Mr Stark gives him a blank expression. “Sure you do, Mr ‘I’m at band practice.’ You are not a rule follower. You’re a rule breaker, just like me.”

“Both of you are going to follow these rules,” Pepper says, raising her voice. “There is no option here.”

Mr Stark puts his arm around Peter and pulls him close so they can stand together in their solidarity. “See what I mean, kid? This wasn’t a discussion. It wasn’t then, and it isn’t now. Just nod your head and agree to everything she says.”

“Tony.” There is a note of warning in Pepper’s voice. “You got your way. Peter is here, and we are all going to be in huge trouble if any of this gets out. And then who is going to take care of Morgan? Every single person you love is going to be affected. So please, I’m begging you. You have to go along with this.”

His arm is strong around Peter’s shoulders. “Okay,” he says. “Fine. I agreed, didn’t I? Just tell the kid so we can start working on my arm.”

Pepper sighs and rubs at her temples. When she looks up at Peter again, her eyes are softer. “First off, no discussing this with anyone, not even your aunt, on any phone. You can’t mention the fact that Tony’s alive. Pretend like you still believe he’s dead.”

Peter is trying to process this new rule. He doesn’t want to pretend that Mr Stark is dead. He never wants to think about that again. “I’ll try,” he says, his voice just above a whisper.

“No, not just trying. This is important Peter. I know it’s hard, but you have to do it.”

Mr Stark squeezes Peter’s arm. “How am I supposed to talk to Peter when he’s not here?”

Pepper looks exasperated. “You can’t, Tony. It’ll be through the rest of us. We’ve already talked about this.”

Mr Stark huffs a little. “I feel like i’m a prisoner getting visitors. Only _they_ get to make phone calls. I saved the fucking universe, Pep. Why is it okay to be punished like this? Why is everyone okay with going along with it?”

“We don’t have a choice,” she says. “And none of us are okay with it. We told Peter because you were clearly not okay with him not knowing, but because of that, there are rules we have to follow to keep SHIELD, and anyone else, from finding out. I know it sucks, but all of this is for you, Tony. Can you please just focus on your recovery until we figure out something better?”

Mr Stark turns away from her, his eyes not focusing on much of anything across the room. “I guess.”

Pepper, breathing a sigh of relief, finishes explaining to Peter about how careful he has to be. She says that she needs to meet with his aunt in person to work out a schedule, but she doesn’t see why he can’t come and see Mr Stark as often as May will let him, especially over the summer. She also mentions that Peter can’t tell anyone where he’s staying. If someone asks, he should say it’s secret Avenger’s business. He can’t even mention this to May over the phone. Only in person.

Before she goes to check on Morgan, she gently puts her hand on the side of Mr Stark’s face, just above where his burn is still healing, but he still won’t look at her, so instead, she ruffles Peter’s hair a little. 

“Be good and don’t blow up anything in the garage,” she says on her way to the porch. 

“Are you okay?” Peter asks quietly when she’s gone.

Mr Stark looks uncertain for a second, but then his eyes meet Peter’s, and he grins. “I’ve got an idea. But I need your help.”


	4. Room @ the End of the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter finally sits down beside him, but he’s closed off, and Tony has to tug on his sleeve a few more times to get him to lean into him. “Come on. Tell me what’s bothering you.”
> 
> “I thought all that was over,” Peter says, looking down at his lap. “I thought you were going to be okay. I didn’t think about it till now, but this could happen all over.” Tears fall from his eyes and make their way down his cheeks. “And I can’t do it again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! Happy long weekend! I'm going to try to write this weekend. :D. I finished chapter 7 so i'm posting chapter 4 for you!! I hope you like it, and please let me know what you think. I love all your comments, and I will be replying to the ones from the last chapter in a few minutes here.

Chapter 4 - Room @ the End of the World

“When is your physical therapy?” Peter is asking while he wheels Tony over the stone path that leads to the garage. “I didn’t see a nurse.” 

“She only comes in for a few hours in the afternoon. We’ll take a break later on before a late lunch so I can do my physical therapy. You can eat while I’m doing that. Maybe let Morgan take you around the property. She’s probably dying to show you the treehouse.” Tony’s burns are itchy, and he lightly scratches at his side. It means they’re healing, but it’s definitely annoying.

When they get to the garage, and Peter wheels Tony inside, Tony feels a little strange about it. He’s been working in this garage since Morgan was born, but this is the first time Peter has seen it. It’s so different from his labs back at the Tower or the Compound, so he watches Peter’s reaction as he walks around and takes everything in. 

Thankfully, Peter’s eyes are shining with wonder. “This is awesome, Mr Stark! You have to tell me about everything here because there’s so much I haven’t seen yet! 

“Of course, bud. Wheel me up to that table and help me into the stool, will you? Then grab two of those old Stark phones over there. Don’t worry, they’re basically shells so I can’t get in trouble over them.”

Peter does as he’s told and then pulls up a second stool right beside Tony’s. “What are we doing with the phones?” he asks.

“This is a secret from everyone, okay? Especially Pepper because she will skin me alive if she finds out. We’re going to customize these two phones so they’re only two way devices,” Tony explains, reaching for a screwdriver. “The only thing we’ll use them for is communicating with each other. It’s more like a high tech walkie talkie with texting instead of talking. That way, when you go back home, we can still keep in touch. How’s that sound?”

“Like the best idea ever,” Peter says and takes the screwdriver from him.

“Now, look. You’re going to be my right hand while we fix these up. Some of this I bet you can figure out on your own. I’ll let you take them apart, and then we can put them back together, okay?”

Peter grins. “Got it!”

So Tony watches while Peter gets to work, carefully taking the phones apart. He gives him pointers every now and then, but mostly lets him work on his own. In no time, he has all the pieces separated and laying on the table. Tony explains what they’ll be doing and then instructs him on reassembling the phone with the required changes. Once they’re put together again, the two connect the phones to the main computer, where they begin to rewrite the programming.

“What are you two up to in here?” Pepper’s voice interrupts them.

Tony almost falls off the stool trying to cover up the devices. It’s really easy to forget he only has one arm when he’s trying to hide something quickly. “Nothing,” he says, looking over his shoulder at his wife. “Just showing Pete some programming.” He’s lucky Pepper doesn’t know anything about programming to recognize what they’re doing on the holographic screen.

Peter puts his arm around Tony to steady him and then uses his other hand to swipe away the display closest to him. “Learning a bunch of new stuff!” he says.

Pepper crosses her arms and smiles at them. “I’m sure you are. What are you working on? The new arm?”

“This is practice for that,” Tony explains, smiling back at her. The phones are uncomfortable under his forearm. If she sees them, it’s over. He’ll never be trusted again.

“Alright, if you say so.” She uncrosses her arms and leans against the doorframe. “But maybe put a pause on it for now? Kendra is getting impatient. You’re an hour late for your therapy, and I have lunch ready for everyone.”

“Okay, we’ll be there in a few minutes,” he tells her.

But Pepper doesn’t budge from the door. She’s staring at him and clearly waiting for him to make a move towards his wheelchair. 

“We’ll meet you at the house,” Tony says, trying to spur her along. “I want to tell Pete something really quick. It’s boring technical jargon.”

She just stares at him. 

“We’ll be _right there_ ,” he repeats. “I _promise_.”

Pepper transfers her gaze to Peter. “Five minutes,” she says before finally turning and exiting the garage entirely. 

Tony waits until her footsteps fade. “Hiding things from her is nearly impossible,” he says, picking up the devices and handing them both to Peter. “We’ll have to finish this up before she catches on. I have a safe in the corner beneath the desk there.” He nods to the corner to his left. “There’s nothing in it right now, and it’s open. I want you to place these in there and lock it. We’ll get them out later.”

Peter makes sure Tony is hanging onto the table before he dashes off to do just as Tony’s asked. “What happens if she finds out?” he asks, walking back toward where Tony is seated.

“Don’t worry, it’s all on me. She’ll just lock this place up and won’t let me in here. Which would suck because we need to build my arm next. Trust me, kid, I hate hiding things from her, but I’m not going to go weeks without talking to you again. You being here is dependent on whatever she and your aunt decide. As far as I’m concerned, you’re my kid. And I’m not going to be separated from you again. Got it?”

Peter nods while he supports Tony into his wheelchair. “Yeah, but why are they doing this? If you don’t have the stones, then why does this all need to be kept secret?”

Tony gets situated in the chair and motions to Peter that he should start pushing. “They don’t tell me everything. I think it was mostly discussed when I wasn’t really with it, and no matter how many times I ask, no one will give me a straight answer. I’m not even sure if Fury told Pepper and Rhodey the truth. All I know is that there is someone or something out there that is looking for the stones, and like Thanos, will go to the ends of the universe to get them.”

They’re outside now, and Peter is pushing him slowly back towards the house. “Maybe we should do what Pepper says,” he says in a quiet voice. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Tony looks back at his worried face. “Don’t worry. We’re going to be very careful. Anyway, SHIELD may know information about this person or being, but without access to the internet or any of my research tools, I’m basically in the dark. Everything at the Compound was destroyed in the fight, and everything I have here is less than a tenth as powerful. Well, had. Rhodey disabled all my technology. Now that I have you though, maybe we can figure some stuff out. Besides, if we know more about this, the more we can be prepared for anything that does happen.” 

Peter is really quiet when they reach the porch, but he moves to help Tony up out of the wheelchair and up the steps anyway. Once he’s safely on the porch and holding onto a sturdy chair, Peter races back down the steps to effortlessly grab the wheelchair. When he sets the wheelchair down, Tony can clearly see the upset expression he’s unsuccessfully trying to hide.

“Hey, Pete. It’s gonna be okay,” he says when Peter straightens up. “All this hiding and stuff, it’s temporary, I know it. SHIELD will probably catch whoever it is, and everything is going to be just fine. I just think we should be prepared just in case.”

Peter looks away, but Tony can still see the tears in his eyes. He feels helpless because he can’t properly comfort him when he’s stuck holding himself up with the only hand he’s got. 

“Come over here and sit down,” he says, letting go for just a moment to tug on the sleeve of Peter’s shirt. “Screw being on time. We need to talk for a few minutes.” He just has to pivot a little on his good leg to be able to flop down on the cushioned outdoor sofa. But Peter is still standing there, looking at him, his eyes red. “Please, would you come here?” Tony asks again.

Peter finally sits down beside him, but he’s closed off, and Tony has to tug on his sleeve a few more times to get him to lean into him. “Come on. Tell me what’s bothering you.”

“I thought all that was over,” Peter says, looking down at his lap. “I thought you were going to be okay. I didn’t think about it till now, but this could happen all over.” Tears fall from his eyes and make their way down his cheeks. “And I can’t do it again.”

When Pepper comes to the door and sees them through the screen, Tony gives her a look that says ‘scram!’ and she quickly turns back around before Peter can see her.

Tony wants to tell Peter that nothing will ever happen, but he knows that in their line of work, that’s definitely not going to be the case. All he can do is do his best to reassure him. “Hey, I’m retired. I’ve been officially been put on disability. I’m not a threat to anyone, and if they ever let me out of this place, everyone is going to see that. Pretty soon they’re going to give more details about where the stones are, and hopefully people will believe it. Then it’s going to be smooth sailing. My biggest worry is going to be making sure you stay out of trouble, and then before i know it, I’ll be making sure Morgan keeps away from boys. You’re gonna have to help me with that, buddy.”

Peter lets out a tearful chuckle and lets Tony pull him closer so that his head is on the man’s shoulder. “I hope you’re right. It’s just that I mean it--I can’t do that again. I don’t even want to leave you here. I think you should come back with me, and I’ll hide you in the apartment. I’ll keep you safe, Mr Stark, I swear.”

“I’m sure you would, bud.” Tony rubs Peter’s back and gently rests his head onto the top of his curls. “I can’t leave here though. Not right now. We’ll figure something out, but in the meantime, I have to stay put. As much as it sucks.”

“I’ll just stay here then,” Peter decides. “May can come visit me.”

Tony sighs. This kid. “It’s not up to me,” he says softly, not wanting to tell him no.

“I have to. I can’t leave knowing that something bad could happen. I have to be here to protect you.”

“I wish I could say yes,” Tony says, moving his hand to squeeze Peter’s shoulder. “Let’s wait until Pepper talks to your aunt. Then we’ll talk about this more later, okay?”

Peter is quiet and still. Tony can tell he doesn’t like the answer, but they’re both too tired to fight about it.

“I guess,” Peter says eventually, taking in a deep breath, clearly trying to get a handle on his emotions. 

Tony pats his back. “You’re a good kid. I know you’re worried, but I’m going to be fine. If I can handle all six infinity stones, then I can handle anything. Got it?” The truth is, Tony knows he’s not invincible. He doesn’t know why he was somehow brought back from the brink of death, but he has been, and he mostly considers himself lucky. He would go to hell and back for his loved ones, and he feels like he’s proved it, but of course he would do it all over again if he had to. Peter doesn’t need to hear that though. Especially if it will just upset him.

Peter nods and wipes off the remaining tears from his face. “I’m serious though. I’m not leaving now that I know someone dangerous may try to come after you if they knew you’re alive.”

“All the best people are protecting me,” Tony says, wishing he wouldn’t have involved Peter in that part of his mission in the first place. Sometimes Peter seems very grown up, but then there are times that Tony has to remind himself that Peter is still a kid. It’s especially hard because he’s spent five years beating himself up over what happened on Titan. He should have known better. But it’s too late now. “Come on. Help me into the kitchen so we don’t keep them waiting any longer. Alright?”

“Okay,” Peter agrees, leaning into Tony to give him a quick hug. “Still not leaving though.”

~*~

Pepper made Kendra, Mr Stark’s nurse, wait for Mr Stark in his room, so when Peter gets to the kitchen, pushing Mr Stark in the wheelchair, it’s just Morgan and Rhodey there eating lunch. Morgan is eating a deconstructed cheeseburger, cut up into small pieces, and Rhodey is pouring glasses of lemonade.

“You okay?” he says when his eyes meets Peter’s. 

Peter sniffs. He’s not about to unload that he’s terrified of something happening to Mr Stark. Especially when Morgan is sitting right there, so he clears his throat. “I’m fine. Kinda hungry, I guess.”

“Trade you,” Pepper says, rushing into the kitchen and holding Peter’s phone out to him. “When you’re done eating, I want you to call your aunt. And remember what we talked about earlier. Tony can eat when he’s done with therapy. Kendra’s a little pissed off, but she’s being paid really well, so she’s pretending to be patient.”

Peter takes the phone and allows Pepper to have control of the wheelchair.

Mr Stark grabs Peter’s hand before she can wheel him away. “We’ll start on the arm in a little bit, okay? Then we can talk more.”

Peter nods and squeezes his hand before it slips away. He’s feeling a little separation anxiety, he realizes, while he watches Pepper wheel Mr Stark out of the room and out of sight. Given the circumstances, it’s maybe a little understandable, but he still doesn’t like it. What would be best is if Mr Stark had never gotten hurt in the first place. Well, that, and if there was no one out there looking for the stones. He feels a little helpless against everything, and he wishes he were an adult. Then maybe he could do something about it.

Rhodey slides a plate across the table to him. It’s loaded up with a big cheeseburger, a good helping of potato salad, and a handful of potato chips. “There’s more if you’re still hungry after that,” he says, smiling at Peter.

“Thanks!” he says, plopping down on a chair and digging in. He always eats the best when he’s staying with Mr Stark. Of course, since he’s been back, that really wasn’t May’s fault. Before his space adventure, he ate just fine wherever he was. It’s just that even though May tries her best, food at Mr Stark’s is always better. 

Peter spends the short amount of time it takes him to eat chatting with Morgan and Rhodey. Well, it’s mostly Morgan telling him all about her favorite things at the lake house, and making him promise to let her show them to him later on. As far as Peter’s concerned, his schedule is pretty booked for the rest of the day. He has to call his aunt, for one, but after that, he plans on spending the rest of the day with Mr Stark, helping him in the garage. He makes sure to promise Morgan that he will check out all her favorite things very soon though.

Since Morgan spent the entire time talking, she still has half the food on her plate when Peter gets up to call May. She insists on following him, but Rhodey makes her stay put in his chair.

He runs past Kendra’s car parked in the drive, and down towards the woods, where he had found a secluded spot the last time he had been here. The place had been crowded for the funeral, and his chest had been feeling like it was going to explode, so he hid himself away and cried and cried, hoping to get it out of his system. Nothing worked. 

Peter doesn't want to think about all of that, but he doesn’t want to run into Kendra when she leaves, so he climbs up into the low branches of a giant oak tree and gets settled. 

The line barely rings once before she picks it up. “Peter?”

“Yeah,” he says, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. “Are you okay?”

“Are you okay?” she counters. “I’ve been worried about you.”

“I’m fine. Surprisingly, not as sad as I thought. Can I stay here for the summer? I just feel like I should stay here. I mean, it’s probably best if I stay here.”

“I have no intentions of keeping you away,” May says slowly after a beat of silence. “But this is something I need to discuss with Pepper first. Also, I think it’s best if you’re here sometimes, too. Remember, Peter, I spent five years without you. Five. I miss you like crazy.”

Suddenly, Peter feels desperate. He understands that May misses him, but she doesn’t have someone after her. She doesn’t need protection like Mr Stark does. He wish he could talk to her about all of that, but Pepper’s phone rules were pretty clear. May is leaning towards not letting him stay for the duration of the summer, and he’s not sure he’ll be able to handle that. “You could come stay here,” he says, his voice shaking a little. “I’ll ask Pepper. I’m sure it’ll be okay. I just can’t leave right now.”

“This is something that needs to be discussed in person,” she says. “And it’s not just up to me. So, I’m sorry. I can’t say yes or no.”

“I need to be here,” he says, trying again. “If I’m not here—” He bites his lip. He can’t say it. “I’m afraid bad things will happen,” he says in a quiet voice.

“All the reason for you to come home. Peter, I’m really upset about this entire situation, but we’ll have to talk more about it later, okay?”

“How long can I stay here then? Did Pepper say when you first talked to her? Or should I ask her?”

“The original plan was for a week, but if you want to stay a little longer, that’s okay with me. I’m going to meet her for lunch tomorrow, and we’ll discuss it more. I’m sure you could come with if you want to.”

“No, I’ll stay here,” Peter says quickly. The thought of leaving Mr Stark tomorrow shakes him to his core. “Morgan was going to show me something.”

“Pepper said that Morgan is going to go with her.”

“Oh.” He sniffs. “Well, I still want to stay here.”

“Okay,” May says gently. “That’s fine. Why don’t you tell Pepper your concerns so we can talk about them when she sees me tomorrow?”

“Okay,” he agrees. “I’m sorry, May. I know this probably sucks, but I can’t leave.”

“We’ll talk about this later, Peter. I mean it.” Her voice is stern, and he knows that she means it. “Tell me for real. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he says, and he mostly means it. “I’m doing better.”

“Are you eating?”

“ _Yes_. Everyone here makes sure I eat. You didn’t have to tell them about that, you know,” he mumbles the last part.

“Peter, it’s my job to make sure you’re well taken care of. And everyone there loves you almost as much or just as much as I do. So you let them take care of you, understand?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Peter mutters. He knows what May says is true, but he’s mad that she didn’t immediately agree to allow him to stay there, so he doesn’t want to give her the satisfaction. “I gotta get going.”

“Okay, be good for Pepper and Rhodey,” May says. “I love you, Peter.”

“I love you, too,” he says after a moment’s hesitation, thinking that if she really loved him, she would allow him to stay and do what he clearly needed to do--protect Mr Stark. After they say goodbye, he still sits there for a few more minutes, his mind racing. He supposes that conversation was going to go badly for him either way because there was no way he could present her with any real argument if he couldn’t even mention that Mr Stark was the reason he wanted to stay. What he needed was more details about this mysterious threat to Mr Stark’s life, and those were probably hidden in confidential SHIELD files that he didn’t have access to.The only internet access he has is his phone…

That’s it. Internet access. Mr Stark has tons of technology, but no internet access. He, however, has internet access on his phone. It’s the perfect solution, and he’s going to ask Mr Stark about it the second he gets out of therapy.

Peter hops down from the tree and begins to run through the woods towards the house. He almost sprints across the lawn, but sees that Kendra is coming out of the house, saying goodbye to Pepper on the porch, so he quickly hops behind a tree.

“Sorry again about the delay,” He can hear Pepper say with his enhanced hearing. “He’s feeling a little better, so he’s starting to get caught up in the garage again. It’s like pulling teeth to get him out of there. I usually have to send Morgan in.”

Kendra laughs. “It’s okay. I already talked to him about how important his therapy is. If he wants to get back on his feet better, he needs to do his exercises consistently. And for the full amount of time every day.”

“Thanks, Kendra. And you’ll be compensated in overtime pay for your extra time today. I’ll pass that along to Agent Fury.”

“Thanks! See you tomorrow.” Kendra begins walking down the steps and towards her car, and Peter scrambles up the tree to get a good luck at her from between the leaves. She looks like he imagined she would--wearing scrubs and her auburn hair tied into a ponytail. She doesn’t look like some government agent nurse. She just looks like a regular nurse.

He watches her car drive away and wonders if he’s going to have to hide up here every day when she comes over.

His phone pings, and he looks down at it.

**Pepper: You can come back in now. Did you talk to your aunt?**

**Peter: Ok. And yes**

Peter stashes his phone in his pocket and drops from the tree, landing easily on the ground before running up to the house and flinging the door open. He makes his way into the kitchen, where Mr Stark is eating at the table, and Pepper is putting the dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

“You okay?” Mr Stark asks when Peter pulls up a chair close to him.

Peter shrugs and waits for Pepper to leave the room. She just smiles at them and rubs Mr Stark’s good shoulder before she pats the top of Peter’s head and hurries away. 

“I talked to May,” Peter says when she’s gone. “And I have a problem. I need your help.”

Mr Stark’s mouth is full. “Oh?”

“Well, I have two problems.”

Mr Stark puts down his burger and grabs a chip. “Lay ’em on me.”

Peter turns his chair a little so he’s facing him. “I’ve decided I need to find out who SHIELD is protecting you from. Then, once I know who it is, I can find them and turn them in. SHIELD can lock them up in one of their secret government bases or whatever, and then not only will you be safe, but none of this will have to be secret anymore. Maybe you can even stay in Manhattan again, like before. At least maybe sometimes.”

Mr Stark drops the chip. “No. No, Pete. That can’t happen that way. I hate this all as much as you do, but there is no way in hell I’m allowing you to chase down some dangerous criminal all by yourself.”

“Maybe not by myself?” Peter suggests. “Maybe Mr Rhodes can help me. Maybe one of the other Avengers? I mean, they all owe you everything. They have to want to help.”

“Pete.” Mr Stark sighs and puts his hand on Peter’s back. “We all signed contracts saying we would let SHIELD handle it. Convincing Rhodey to let you in on the secret was hard enough as it is, and the other Avengers, they don’t even know I’m alive. So look. I have a plan.” He lowers his voice to a whisper. “But we can’t talk about it here where Pepper likes to spy on me. After I finish eating, we’ll talk more in the garage, okay?”

Peter nods, excited. If they can figure this all out, then Mr Stark doesn’t have to be a secret anymore. And then he’ll be safe, and Peter can breathe even though he’s not with Mr Stark every single moment of every single day.


	5. Bent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter blinks back tears. “Only if you promise not to do it on your own either. That’s the only way I’m going to promise.”
> 
> Tony grits his teeth. This kid is too much like him. They are both the same type of reckless, and it’s maddening. “Okay, I promise. Now you.”
> 
> “I promise,” Peter says, wiping at his tears when Tony lets go of his chin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay! My dad was in the hospital and it was kind of stressful. He's doing better now, so I can get back to writing :). I started posting another long story if anyone wants to check that out. I have about 17 chapters of that one written so far. I just started chapter 9 of this story, so there's more to come! Please let me know what you think! I love all your comments and they totally make my day! <3

Chapter 5 - Bent

Tony regrets almost everything about telling Peter about the reason why he has to keep his surviving a secret. It’s just that he doesn’t really have anyone else to help him. As much as he trusts his family, he doesn’t trust SHIELD. He can understand why they don’t want to tell him all the details--because they know him well enough to know that he will do anything he can to fix the situation himself--but it’s driving him up the wall. 

The truth is, Peter is the only person who will help him. Pepper is too strict with SHIELD’s rules, and Rhodey works for the government, so while they were willing to let him have his way about Peter knowing, they won’t go much further than that. Happy might be able to be swayed, but he’s not a superhero, and at the current moment, he’s more swayed by May than anyone, so bringing him in on the plan will definitely not work out.

That just leaves himself and Peter. Which is why this has to wait until he’s stronger. He just has to explain that to Peter and pray that the kid gets it.

“Are we going to start on the arm?” Peter asks when they get back to the garage later that afternoon. “Or are we going to talk about your plan? To be honest, I’d rather talk about your plan. I’m so happy you’re alive, Mr Stark. I can’t even tell you how much, but now I feel like I’m worried all over again. I need to do something.”

“Come on, kid, over here,” Tony points to the far end of the garage where an old ragged couch is up against the wall. Peter only has to help a little for Tony to get onto the couch. Tony is sore from physical therapy, but he’s used to it by now, so he does his best to ignore it. “We can work on all of that together, but you’re not allowed to go after anyone by yourself. Is that clear?”

Peter looks a little distressed. “Then who—”

“We’re going to build my arm, and I’m going to work really hard at getting my strength back. Then when the time is right, we’ll go together if needed. It all depends on what we find out. Under no circumstance are you going to do this alone. Promise me, Pete. I need you to promise and mean it, one hundred percent, no exceptions.”

Peter looks away for a second, which isn’t a good sign. He’s clearly thinking about if he should promise or not. This kid can be reckless when he thinks he’s doing the right thing. Tony knows that about him. 

So Tony grabs his chin, forcing him to look at him. “I could not live if something happened to you again. Especially if it was because of me. Again. I know this is hard for you, but those five years you were gone, I was broken. I had to mend myself back together for Morgan’s sake, but it still hurts. You need to know that, Pete. If we do this, we do it together, and no other way. Now promise me.”

Peter blinks back tears. “Only if you promise not to do it on your own either. That’s the only way I’m going to promise.”

Tony grits his teeth. This kid is too much like him. They are both the same type of reckless, and it’s maddening. “Okay, I promise. Now you.”

“I promise,” Peter says, wiping at his tears when Tony lets go of his chin. “Can we start on your arm? May said the original plan was that I could stay here for a week. That was before she knew about you, though.”

Tony gives him a warm smile. “We’ll start on it right after we finish our other little project. And we’re almost done so it shouldn’t take too long.” All that’s left is the coding, really, and that’s something that Tony can do without Peter’s help. But he spends the next two hours going over it with him until he understands anyway.

“What are we going to call them?” Peter asks when they’re finally finished. The two of them have sent each other a few practice messages, and so far, everything seems to be working perfectly. 

Tony smiles at him because he thought he’d never ask. “I was thinking we’d call them ‘spiders’ so no one around here will be suspicious if they overhear us. They’ll think we’re talking about your suit.”

Peter grins. “That’s awesome. I love the name. Of course. I’m not sure how I’m going to hide it from May. It looks a little different from my actual phone.”

“Go open that drawer over there,” Tony says, pointing to his work desk and waiting for Peter to jump up. “Yeah, that one. The second drawer. There should be some old Stark phone cases in there, just plain ones with the logo on the back, see them?”

Peter holds up two. 

“Yeah, those, bring them back here.” He waits until Peter is back on the couch and then instructs him to snap one on his real phone and the other on the new Spider device. “See? Now they’re identical. She won’t know which one you’re holding.”

Peter sets both of them down beside him and then looks at Tony excitedly. “Thanks, Mr Stark! Can we start the arm now? How long do you think it’ll take?”

Tony moves to get up, but he’s sore still from physical therapy and he forgot to take his ibuprofen after lunch. He doesn’t want Peter to worry, though, so he tries not to show how sore his right leg is when he puts a little weight on it.

Peter is right there anyway, helping him to his work bench. “Are you okay? Maybe we could get a short table or something and we can sit on the couch while we work on stuff?”

“No, I’m fine, don’t worry,” Tony assures him once he’s settled on his stool. “The arm would normally take me under a week to finish, but I used to stay up all night and work on things until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. Now days, that’s not really an option because of those damn nerve meds. That, and Morgan needs some attention. And then when Pepper’s home, she’s constantly on my case about everything. Don’t get me wrong, I love her and she’s amazing and she didn’t have to stick around through all of this but she did anyway, it’s just that sometimes I need a little space. I’m already under lock and key, I don’t need everyone monitoring every damn thing I do.” He knows he’s rambling, but he can’t stop the words from pouring out. Normally he wouldn’t say these things to Peter, but he doesn’t feel like there’s anyone else he can say them to. To be honest, he feels better now that he’s said them.

“It’s okay, Mr Stark,” Peter says, patting his back just like Tony had patted his back earlier. “All of this is temporary. Once we figure out who this guy is, we can take him down permanently, and then things can go back to normal.” He stops and then clears his throat. “I mean, some weird kind of normal that we haven’t had before because of all the other crazy stuff that’s been happening lately.”

Tony looks at him, smiling softly because this kid is the best kid in the world. He can only hope Morgan will take after her big brother. “You’re right. We can do this. Have I told you I’m so glad you’re here?”

Peter grins, his eyes shining. “I think so, but maybe not in those exact words.”

“Well I am. Now, grab that screwdriver to your right. No, the smaller one. That’s it.”

It’s about an hour later, and they’re working on the body of the arm when Peter turns to look at him. “Mr Stark? Will you still tell me what happened to Captain America? I keep hearing about it on TV, but it’s mostly a bunch of speculation. Like some are saying he died and it’s being covered up because of this conspiracy or that conspiracy. Personally, I think they don’t actually know so they’re just making stuff up.”

Tony is leaning over Peter’s work enough so he can see what’s going on, but his back is starting to hurt so he sits up straight and stretches a little. “Yeah, let’s bring this all over to the couch. My ass is numb.”

Once they’re settled onto the couch, a tray on Peter’s lap so he can keep working, Tony leans into the back of the couch and just watches him. He’s so proud, and loves watching Peter do his thing. He doesn’t want to let the truth about what happened to Steve Roger’s ruin it. But the kid has asked several times, so he feels like he owes it to him. “So, that’s kind of what happened to the stones,” he begins, pausing for a moment when Peter looks up at him from his work.

“They said that the stones were returned,” Peter says. “What happened to them?”

“They _were_ returned,” Tony says, pointing back to the body of the arm so that Peter will continue to work. “You heard about how we got them initially, right?”

Peter nods. “Yeah, the basic version. There are a lot of people skeptical about that, too. Some are saying that you’ve had the stones this whole time, and you’re some sort of evil genius who wants to destroy the universe for his own selfish gain.” He looks up again and this time, his eyes are dark, and the expression on his face, serious. “Don’t worry. I told them all to fuck off.” 

For a brief moment, Tony is surprised by not only his language, but also how angry he looks. This isn’t the Peter he knows, but then again, the last two months being back in the world after his five missing years, and then to not have Tony back on top of it all, must have been harder on him than he imagined. “Okay, break time,” Tony says, motioning that Peter should set the tray aside. “Before you break something. We’ll just sit here and talk. Conspiracy theories and misguided teenagers from your school aside, I’ll fill you in on all those details if you want. But first, let me tell you about Cap and the stones.”

Peter nods, settling in against Tony’s side, the anger falling from his features. “I wish I could tell them about everything that happened,” he says. “Then they would know for sure what an amazing person you are. But if I did, then they would know about Spider-Man. Part of me doesn’t even care about that. Like before I knew you were alive, I kept asking myself why it even mattered anymore.”

“Of course, it _matters._ ” Tony gets his arm around him and presses a kiss into his hair. “I want you to be a normal kid for as long as possible. Alright?”

Peter nods, but doesn’t say anything else. Tony doesn’t know what’s going on in his head, but from where he sits, it’s a little bit dark. He’s going to have to work on changing that.

“Back to Cap,” he says, resting the side of his face against Peter’s curls. “When the whole battle was over, he took the stones back to where we got them from. Or at least I’m assuming he did. He came back later to tell us about it, but...not only was he a little vague about it, he was also a really old man. I guess, according to what Rhodey told me because I was sort of unconscious and being locked away in some secret SHIELD hospital at the time, he went back to the past and decided to live there.”

Peter’s quiet for what feels like a long time. “Okay, so that’s a little weird,” he finally says. “And kind of creepy. Old man Captain America came back to tell you he decided to stay in the past? Why would he do that? Who would want to live in time with no cell phones? What if you were meeting up with someone but no one had a phone so you just walked around looking for each other all day? You’d have to go home and call them from your landline just to say you couldn’t find them. That’s so stupid, Mr Stark!”

Tony laughs because he remembers times like those. “No, kid. You were just much more specific about when and where to meet. It wasn’t that bad.”

“If you say so,” Peter says. “Anyway, where does Old Cap live? And how old is he?”

“That gets a little complicated…” Tony admits. “And also, he didn’t really tell us any of that. I don’t know if he lives in this timeline or some other timeline, or if it’s even possible to visit him. And I don’t know what year he went back to live in, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you his age either. Probably pretty ancient though.”

“That’s stupid,” Peter says again, leaning more heavily into Tony. “Promise me you’ll never ever do that.”

“There’s no reason why I would ever do that,” Tony says gently. “Everyone I love is right here. No reason to go to the past. Now do you want to keep working on the arm, or should we take a break?” 

Peter isn’t budging from his spot beside him. Tony thinks that the poor kid hasn’t gotten enough sleep in a really long time, and maybe he’s due for a nap or something when Peter finally sits up and yawns. “We really should get going on the arm,” he says sleepily. “I want it to be done before May tries to make me leave.”

Tony smiles at him, but it’s a little sad. “Alright, just a little longer. Then we’ll go back to the house for a snack. If we’re lucky, Morgan won’t steal you away from me.”

Peter grins and nods, reaching back for the tray with his work on it that he had previously set beside himself on the couch. “Good. I need you to explain this part to me though. I can see where the connection is, but I don’t get how it retracts.”

Tony spends the next hour explaining everything that comes up as they work on the arm together. It’s the fastest time has moved since the battle.

~*~

They’re both so focused on the arm, that if it weren’t for Pepper coming into the garage and insisting they come to dinner, they both probably would have starved. But instead, they drag themselves away from their work and join the rest of the family around the dining room table for a big spaghetti dinner, complete with meatballs and garlic toast. After dinner is done and Peter’s has a good helping of seconds, they make a move to head back to the garage when Morgan grabs the hem of Peter’s shirt, pulling him back as hard as she can.

“You and Daddy spent all day building Daddy’s arm,” Morgan says, her lower lip in a pout. “Will you _please _watch a movie with me? I’ll even show you my all time favorite one.”__

__Peter looks at Mr Stark, who shrugs from where he still sits at the head of the table. There’s a smile on his face and a warm look in his eyes telling him that it’s up to him._ _

__“Daddy, please?” Morgan transfers her begging to her dad, leaning over into his lap and looking up at him with her big brown eyes and pouty lip. Clearly, she has done this before._ _

__Mr Stark laughs and ruffles her hair a little. “You’re wasting your talents on me. It’s up to Pete.”_ _

__Morgan’s big eyes find Peter in an instant. “Please, Petey?” She grabs onto his legs and looks up at him, and there’s absolutely no way he can say no._ _

__“Okay, okay. Movie night,” he says, reaching down to hoist her up into his arms._ _

__She giggles because he does it so effortlessly, and in the next moment, she has her arms around his neck, holding on tightly. “Mommy!” she yells, and Pepper turns around from loading the dishwasher. “Will you make us popcorn? Please?”_ _

__After Pepper agrees, Mr Stark looks at Peter. “Now you know how it feels. See? This is what they call just rewards, Mr Parker.”_ _

__Peter just grins while Morgan giggles. “I want a reward!” she says._ _

__They all end up in the living room piled on the cozy furniture, watching Morgan’s favorite movie. It’s an animated kid movie that Peter has never seen because it came out while he was gone. Everyone else, including Rhodey, has seen the movie about a million times. Morgan can cite almost all the lines by heart as the movie plays, and Peter feels just a little left out. He’s happy, really, it’s just that he hasn’t actually spent much time thinking about all the stuff he’s missed. He knows it was because he was so upset over Mr Stark, and it makes sense. It also makes sense that now is the time that it starts to hit him. He’s missed so much._ _

__“Something wrong, buddy?” Mr Stark says softly beside him._ _

__Peter hesitates to reply. For one thing, Pepper is sitting on the other side of Mr Stark with Morgan in her lap, and for another, Rhodey is sitting to Peter’s left in a recliner. He looks bored out of his mind and half asleep, but Peter doesn’t doubt that he could overhear a conversation if he wanted to. But Mr Stark is waiting patiently for an answer, so he has to say something. “I just realized how many movies I haven’t seen yet,” he says, and it comes out sounding much sadder than he meant it to._ _

__“Don’t worry,” Mr Stark says, leaning towards him a little so he can keep the conversation quiet. “I don’t have access to the internet, but somehow I still have access to every movie imaginable. And TV show, etcetera. So we can catch up on everything. To be honest, I’ve only seen kid shows the last several years anyway, so we’ll do it together. How’s that sound?”_ _

__“Awesome, as usual.” Peter smiles through his fleeting sadness and rests his head against Mr Stark’s shoulder. It’s then that he notices his phone buzz so he pulls it out. Ned is Texting him._ _

__**Ned: You ok?** _ _

__When Peter opens his text messages, he sees that he’s missed about twenty texts from his best friend. They range from telling Peter about what movie he’s watching to being genuinely concerned that Peter hasn’t gotten back to him yet. Peter figures he better start replying soon. But he then realizes that no matter how much he wants to tell Ned all about Mr Stark and all the awesome things they’re building, he can’t. He can’t even tell Ned where he is, per Pepper’s instructions._ _

__**Peter: Sorry, it’s been crazy. I’m fine.** _ _

__**Ned: Are you training with the Avengers????** _ _

__**Peter: No. More like hanging out and watching movies. I’m still not sure how long I’m staying. I’m trying to talk May into letting me stay longer** _ _

__**Ned: Dude! I wish I could come with next time! I know that’s probably unrealistic since I wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider and all but it would be awesome!** _ _

__**Peter: Yeah.** _ _

__**Ned: I’m still really sorry about what happened to Mr Stark. Not having him there has to be rough** _ _

__Right then, Mr Stark put his arm around Peter’s shoulders and gave him a squeeze._ _

__“Are you reading over my shoulder?” Peter asks, glancing up at him._ _

__Mr Stark puts his hand on the side of Peter’s head and guides it back against him. “Shh, we’re trying to watch a movie!”_ _

__Once Peter’s settled again, he starts typing back to Ned._ _

__**Peter: I’m sorry, I’m not mad or anything but can we not talk about that for awhile? I just don’t really want to think about it right now. Sorry** _ _

__**Ned: It’s okay. And I’m sorry. I should have thought more about where you were. Of course you don’t want to talk about it. So…… what movie are you watching?** _ _

__**Peter: Some kid movie called Bird Brained. It’s about a duck that’s smarter than all his other duck friends and then they try to outsmart the hunters. It’s kind of silly but Morgan loves it. Have you seen it?** _ _

__**Ned: Wait Morgan is there? I thought you said it was an Avengers thing? And no I haven’t seen it. I’m just as behind as you are** _ _

__Peter freezes with his thumbs over his screen. He’s really bad at this secret keeping thing. He knows that Mr Stark is reading over his shoulder, but he hasn’t even felt him flinch. If Pepper saw, would she freak out? He thinks for a few seconds about how to reply._ _

__**Peter: Happy just brought Morgan to see me. That’s all.** _ _

__“Psst, Morgan,” Mr Stark says, causing his daughter to look up at him from the movie. “Pete wants a hug. Can you give him a hug?”_ _

__“Right now?” she asks._ _

__“Yes, right now!” Mr Stark says. “Come on, chop chop. We’re not getting any younger.”_ _

__Morgan hurriedly climbs off her mother’s lap and over her father’s to get to Peter. Then she puts her arms around his neck and lays her head on his shoulder. He can’t help but put his arms around her and hold her close. His phone is buzzing with Ned’s reply, half forgotten on the couch beside him, but he figures he’ll look at it later._ _

__“She gives the best hugs, huh?” Mr Stark says softly, pulling them both close._ _


	6. Long Distance Runner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Calm down a little,” Mr Stark says, his hand going to Peter’s head and smoothing down his curls. “Are you sure it’s not an animal you were sensing?”
> 
> “It feels like something else,” Peter says shakily. “What if it’s SHIELD? Are they going to be mad I’m here? What will they do to you if they found out you told me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I just finished chapter 9, so I'm posting 6 for you. (Still trying to stay 3 ahead) I'm not sure how long this story is going to be... maybe 25 chapters? I'm not yet halfway through though, I know that. Thank you so much for all your awesome comments. They really make my day! I hope you like this chapter, too, and please let me know what you think! <3

Chapter 6

When Peter wakes up in the middle of the night, it’s not from a nightmare. Pepper had set him up properly in a guest room on the main level so he could be near Mr Stark, which he was okay with considering he had now accepted that he wasn’t in the middle of the dream. It’s just that there is a storm outside, and rain and hail are pounding on the windows and against the side of the house. His senses are all out of whack, and it’s causing him to feel like there’s a panic attack coming on, but he doesn’t know why.

Could someone be watching the house?

The thought sends a chill down his spine, and in the next second, he’s out of the bed, grabbing his web shooters from his backpack and then swiftly making his way to Mr Stark’s room. If there is someone out there, and they want anything to do with Mr Stark, they’ll have to come through him first.

He enters the room without knocking and slips inside, his back to the door. The room is pitch black, but every time lightning strikes, it lights up for just a moment, and Peter can see that there is nothing out of place in the room, save for what he can’t see in the shadows. And the most important thing, Mr Stark is sleeping soundly in bed, his chest rising and falling in even breaths.

Peter feels immediately better, but he’s still feeling off. If he has to sit on the floor and watch Mr Stark all night, then he will.

Right then there’s a loud crack of thunder, and Mr Stark jumps a little, opening his eyes and propping himself up, his eyes meeting Peter’s. “Um, kind of creepy, Parker. Care to explain yourself?”

Peter rushes to his bed and hurriedly climbs up beside Mr Stark, tucking himself in against his side. “I don’t know. The storm woke me up. Or at least I think it was the storm. And then I was feeling like something or someone was watching the house, so I came to check on you.”

“Calm down a little,” Mr Stark says, his hand going to Peter’s head and smoothing down his curls. “Are you sure it’s not an animal you were sensing?”

“It feels like something else,” Peter says shakily. “What if it’s SHIELD? Are they going to be mad I’m here? What will they do to you if they found out you told me?”

“Shh,” Mr Stark hushes, trying to get him to calm down. “It’s okay, Pete. Listen, I wasn’t going to tell you all the details about this because it doesn’t really matter as long as you and Morgan are safe, right?”

“And _you_ , Mr Stark. It matters if _you’re_ safe.” Peter closes his eyes and listens to the man’s heartbeat. He feels like it’s the only thing that really calms him down.

“Okay,” Mr Stark relents, his voice quiet. “Just listen a second. Rhodey turned FRIDAY off as well as blocked the servers and internet access I use to run everything, but he still has access himself, and he uses it to maintain an electronic barrier around this property. It not only prevents any audio or video devices from penetrating it, but also notifies him if anyone tries to get past it. Basically anyone looking at it from the other side will see nothing except the house and the landscape. Any people on the property won’t appear, and they can’t hear any voices. Apparently he tested it when I was still stuck in bed. It works.”

Peter sniffs while he blinks, taking it all in. “That’s kind of awesome. Will you tell him I need one of those for when I’m changing into the suit in alleys in Queens? Would really come in handy.”

Mr Stark laughs. “Look. This is my house. And like I told them, you’re my kid. They can’t stop me from seeing you. I won’t allow it. You’re safe here, buddy. So why don’t you close your eyes and go to sleep. And hopefully we won’t get a visit from Morgan again. I don’t know if you noticed, but she kicks in her sleep. I have enough bruises already.”

Peter chuckles and settles in. He tries to concentrate on Mr Stark’s fingers untangling his curls, but he just can’t shake the feeling. The rain and thunder and hail are blocking him from hearing anything outside except the wind. So he guesses he has no choice than to take Mr Stark’s word for it. It’s not like going outside in the storm would help anything. He would have to leave Mr Stark to do that, anyway, and that’s definitely not something he’s going to do.

“I won’t let anyone come near you, Mr Stark,” Peter says, his eyes getting heavier and heavier.

Mr Stark kisses his forehead. “You’re okay, Pete. No one is coming in the house. I promise.”

He must have somehow drifted off shortly after that, because the next thing he remembers is hearing birds singing from out the window. The storm has passed, and so has the anxiety that had kept him up in the middle of the night. When his eyes flutter open, he realizes that he’s once again, alone in Mr Stark’s bed, surrounded by fluffy blankets. The blinds are closed, but the light is coming through the cracks enough for Peter to see that it’s morning.

He wishes Mr Stark would wake him up when he gets up, because Peter doesn’t like waking up and not knowing where he is. As far as he knows, someone could have snatched him in the middle of the night, but Peter is pretty sure he would have woken up for that, at least.

Peter’s things are now in the guest room, so he instead of rushing through his morning routine, he ventures out into the rest of the house still in his pajamas. But he doesn’t even care, all he wants to do is make sure that Mr Stark is okay.

He quickly realizes that he’s overreacting when he hears Mr Stark talking to Morgan from around the corner.

“That’s it. Pop on the wheel and screw that back in,” he says, sounding very much like he did when he was giving Peter instructions the day before when they were working on the arm. “There you go. Good as new. Turn him on.”

Peter rounds the corner and sees the two of them, Mr Stark sitting on the couch and Morgan standing by the coffee table with a little robot. The robot rolls back and forth on his wheels and then in a robotic voice, says, “Go clean your room!” and “No excuses!”

Morgan giggles for a second before she sees Peter and comes running at him. He lifts her up into his arms and kisses her cheek. “Good morning. Is that your robot? It’s really cool!”

“Daddy made him for me,” she says, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment. “One of his wheels came off so he was helping me fix him. Do you know how to make robots?”

“I guess I do a little. Not as good as Daddy though.” He brings Morgan back over to the couch and sits down. 

“You feeling better today?” Mr Stark asks, leaning over to turn the robot off. “I hope you got enough sleep.”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Peter says while Morgan crawls off his lap and sinks into the space between them. “I guess the storm kind of freaked me out. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Mr Stark says immediately. “Never apologize for something beyond your control. And don’t apologize for your feelings either. And speaking of feelings, do you still feel like someone is… you know…” He puts his hand on top of Morgan’s head so she’s not looking at him and mouths the word, ‘outside.’

Peter pauses for a second to pay attention to his senses. “No, not really. Maybe it was an animal. Like… a deer or something. Have you seen any deer around this place?”

“I saw a deer!” Morgan says, looking up at him with bright eyes. “Out my bedroom window. There were two deers!”

Peter ruffles her hair and then looks at Mr Stark. “It was probably a deer. I just overreacted.”

The smile falls from Mr Stark’s face. “No, you did not overreact. I want you to trust your senses. You can always come to me if you feel like something’s wrong. Okay?”

“Okay,” Peter agrees, a slow smile coming to his face. 

“You probably did sense something,” Mr Stark goes on. “Maybe it was a deer. Maybe it was… some other animal, but the main thing is that we’re safe in this house. Right Morgan?”

“One hundred percent safe,” Morgan says. “Daddy says this house is classified. Whatever that means.”

Right then, Pepper shows up at the top of the staircase, “Alright, Ms Classified, let’s get a move on. We’re going to have lunch with Uncle Happy and Aunt May.”

While Morgan looks at her mother, torn, Peter is wondering why when Pepper said ‘Uncle Happy and Aunt May’ it sounded like they were a couple. But he doesn’t know how to bring it up without sounding weird, so he shuts his mouth.

“Can Daddy and Petey come with?” Morgan asks, reluctantly getting up from the couch. 

When Pepper gets to the bottom of the stairs, she reaches out for Morgan to take her hand. “You know that Daddy can’t come with us. And I’m pretty sure Peter wants to stay with Daddy. So hurry up and put your shoes on. The faster we leave the faster you can get back and play with Peter some more.”

“Alright,” Morgan says, sounding a little sad. She leans onto the couch to hug both Mr Stark and Peter’s legs, and then runs to grab her mom’s hand.

Everyone says goodbye, but before Pepper can walk out of the room, she turns and looks at Mr Stark. “You make sure he eats. Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it,” Mr Stark says, sounding a little annoyed. “He’s not a baby. I’m sure he knows where we keep the food.”

“Behave yourselves,” Pepper says and then pulls Morgan out the door.

Peter is red with embarrassment. He doesn’t know why everyone has to keep bringing up the food thing. He has his face in his hands, but he can feel Mr Stark’s eyes on him. “I don’t have a problem with food,” he says when the door clicks shut. “It’s just that I was really sad, and when I’m really sad, I’m not hungry. And because of my metabolism, it was kind of extreme. I’m fine, I promise.”

“Hey, don’t worry, Pete,” Mr Stark says. “We all just care about you and want to make sure you’re okay. You don’t have to be embarrassed. I know you don’t have a problem with food. You are the same kid who used to eat me out of house and home, right?”

Peter smiles at him. “Yeah, and I’m starving right now. What’s for breakfast? Did you eat yet?”

Mr Stark just laughs. “Donuts are on the counter. Rhodey brought them in early this morning. Go grab the box and bring it in here. I’ll eat one, too.”

Peter has never made a dash to the kitchen and back faster in his life.

~*~

May Parker is still reeling from the news from the day before. When she wakes up that morning and starts the coffee, she tries not to think too much about how Happy watched Peter suffer for two whole months and didn’t say a word about it. And yeah, she gets the whole non-disclosure agreement thing that SHIELD made him sign. He would probably be in big trouble for breaking his agreement, but this is Peter they’re talking about. And he means the world to her. How could he even sign the thing in the first place?

She takes a breath, and with shaky hands, pours two cups of coffee, one for herself, and one for Happy, who she can hear in the bathroom while he finishes getting ready for their day. 

And it’s going to be a long day. They’re meeting Pepper at a restaurant out of town for lunch. It’s about halfway between Queens and the lake house, so it’s probably some little diner in the middle of nowhere, but that’s not what bother’s May. She likes little diners. It’s just that they’re going to have a hard conversation there, because to be honest, she’s a little mad at Pepper, too. How could no one say anything for two whole months?

But before she can dwell on it too long, after all, she has been trying to not think about it, Happy comes out of the bathroom and is straightening his collar as he makes his way towards her.

“You look beautiful,” he says, leaning in to kiss her. “And you made coffee. For me?”

She gives him a gentle push. “Who else would I make coffee for?”

“Maybe you were really thirsty and wanted two mugs all for yourself. I don’t know.” He grabs the mug still on the counter and carefully sips from it. “Thanks.”

She watches him over the top of her mug. “I’m still mad, just so you know. You’re all going to have to make this up to Peter. That’s the only way I’ll forgive you completely.”

“I will, I promise,” he says, turning around to face her. “I’d do anything for that kid.”

“Anything but tell him the truth about Tony’s survival, apparently,” she mutters.

“It was complicated. I hope Pepper can explain it better. I’m shit at explaining stuff like this.” His eyes find his watch while he’s sipping his coffee, and he almost spits it out. “Speaking of being shit at things, we better get a move on. We’re supposed to be there by eleven, and it’s a drive.”

They transfer their coffee into to-go cups, and then make their way to the expensive Audi that’s parked out front, looking sorely out of place in the humble Queens neighborhood. The ride there is pretty quiet. Happy has the radio on a little, but it’s at a low volume, and he tries to make conversation with her, but when it becomes clear that she isn’t really into talking at the moment, he drops it. By the time they arrive, they’re both ready to get out of the car and away from all the awkward silence.

The diner is cute and nostalgic and reminds May of her childhood when her great aunts would take her to Sunday brunch. There’s even a jukebox playing old music. Happy puts his hand on her back and guides her along the rows of booths until they find Pepper and Morgan sitting side by side at the booth at the end. Pepper is on her phone, and Morgan is coloring on a kids menu. When they see Happy and May, they both look up.

“Uncle Happy!” Morgan squeals, standing up on the booth while her mother tries to get her to sit back down. “You brought Auntie May!”

“Of course, I did, squirt!” Happy picks her up. “I know how much you love Auntie May!” He looks at May with big, blinking eyes that rival Morgan’s. It’s pathetic. He knows damn well that no one can resist Morgan’s eyes.

So May holds out her arms to Morgan. “I’m so happy to see you!” she says, letting Happy transfer the kid into her arms. “Is Peter being nice to you? You have my permission to give him trouble if he’s not!”

Morgan smiles so big, she’s practically glowing. “I love Petey. He’s the best big brother. He picks me up and carries me everywhere. He’s the best in the whole wide universe!”

May laughs and hugs Morgan tight. Of course, she loves Peter. Everyone loves Peter. She can’t wait to see the two of them together. Peter is the kind of kid who deserves to have a sweet little sister like Morgan. The two of them will definitely be good for one another. She’s just so glad that Tony is still around to enjoy it, too.

“But I’m really confused, Auntie May,” Morgan says, pulling back to look her in the eyes. “If Petey is my brother, and you’re our aunt, then why does he live with you instead of with Mommy and Daddy and me?”

May just stares at her with wide eyes. She doesn’t know how to answer that question so she looks to Pepper for help while Happy stuffs himself into the booth, pretending he didn’t hear the question.

“Okay, okay, time for a talk,” Pepper says, standing up to take Morgan from May and help her back into the booth. 

May squeezes in beside Happy and wonders how Pepper is going to explain their family to a four year old. It should be interesting.

Pepper clears her throat while Morgan gets settled in the booth. When everyone is still, she finally starts. “You know how your friend Carter at school is adopted? His mommy and daddy picked him to be their kid when he was a baby.”

“Am I adopted?” Morgan asks, her eyes wide and blinking.

“No, sweetie. Daddy, in a way, adopted Peter before you were born. But Peter still lives with Aunt May, because she is like his Mommy.”

Morgan looks at May. “Did you adopt Petey?”

“Yes,” May says, happy to help out. “I know it’s complicated sweetie, but sometimes family doesn't need to be related by blood to be family. So even though Peter isn’t technically related to you, or your daddy, or even me, that doesn’t mean that we’re not family.”

“So, he’s still my brother?” Morgan looks between May and Pepper, her lower lip trembling a little and her eyes filling with tears. 

“Of course,” Pepper says, putting her arm around Morgan and pulling her in close. “He said he wanted to be your brother, didn’t he?”

Morgan nods and wipes at her eyes. “I think I understand,” she says after sniffing a few times. “Mommy is like Petey’s aunt, and Aunt May is like Petey’s mommy. But Petey and I have the same daddy so that means he’s my brother.”

“Yes!” Pepper says, squeezing her tight. “You’re so smart, honey. And what we’re going to talk about today is how much time Peter is going to spend with us. Okay?”

Morgan brightens instantly. “A lot of time?”

May just laughs. “Well, I see whose side she’s on.” She’s finding it very hard to be mad with Morgan sitting there brightening up the entire diner.

Morgan grabs her crayons again, satisfied, but after a few seconds she looks up and meets Happy’s eyes. “Are you still my uncle?”

“Of course, I’m still your uncle,” Happy says when the two women chuckle. “I’m your best uncle. Right?”

Morgan looks torn. “That’s what Uncle Rhodey says, too. But I think you’re both the best!”

Happy throws up his hands as much as he can in the tiny space he has in the corner of the booth. “There’s nothing I can do with this kid,” he says, but winks at Morgan at the same time. 

May finds herself rubbing his arm. She can see the love that he has for Morgan, and when he’s with Peter, she can see how much he loves Peter, too. Clearly, there is something she isn’t understanding, because she knows that this man cares for her nephew. She’s hoping that Pepper can help her to understand.

“So, I’m struggling with this,” May says when Morgan goes back to her coloring. “Peter was so sad. I just don’t understand why everyone waited two months to tell him.”

Pepper sighs, and she looks worn down and sad. It’s obvious that this has been on hard on her as well. “I’m so sorry, May. But there were a few reasons. The first being that we couldn’t get SHIELD to agree to put Peter on the approval list because he’s a minor. Morgan was different because she’s four, and she lives with us. We weren’t allowed to tell you either, because of your relationship to Peter. So that was a battle. When Tony was a little better, he argued for Peter himself. They wouldn’t budge. Then, even though he was pressuring us, we couldn’t tell you two right away, because we were afraid SHIELD was watching you. Rhodey was keeping an eye on everything. According to him, your surveillance cleared last week, so we finally all agreed it was time to tell you. Please don’t be upset, May. We did everything we could to tell you two as quickly as possible. And if it were up to Tony, Peter would have been there the second he was alert enough to ask for him.”

“Okay, I guess that makes a little more sense. Happy wasn’t the best at explaining it.” She gives him a sideways look. 

“I wasn’t sure how much I could tell you,” he says, just as the waitress walks up. They order some drinks and a large order of french fries to share, and then everyone pulls out their menus because in all their conversation, they have forgotten that they’re here for food. Once the waitress has left their table, Happy puts his arm around May. “I don’t even think Tony knows half of that, by the way,” he says softly into her ear.

“He’s right,” Pepper says, sighing. “We have to be pretty careful about what we tell him, because you know how he is. He’ll be on the warpath as soon as he’s physically able to leave the house on his own. Thankfully, he’s still not allowed to drive with his right leg acting up, but if he knew half this stuff, not even that would stop him. Which brings me to Peter. We also have to be careful what we say to him, because those two are very close, and I don’t think they’ll keep secrets from each other.”

“Peter is awful at secret-keeping,” May says, leaning into Happy. “I guess I sort of get why you didn’t say something right away. But that brings me to my next question. Why is this being kept a secret in the first place? I’m pretty sure everyone loves Tony. I mean, half the universe owes their existence to him.”

“Not everyone,” Pepper says slowly. “According to SHIELD--and Tony doesn’t know this, so Peter can’t either, by the way--there has been word of a small group of enhanced individuals after the stones. When Tony was in the hospital undergoing major surgery on his arm, it was in the first twenty four hours after he used the stones, one of the SHIELD agents heard through his contacts that there was a group of enhanced individuals coming after Tony because they believed he still had the stones. He didn’t. What you saw on the news is the truth. Steve Rogers brought the stones back to the times they came from not too long after they were used. But SHIELD was afraid for not only Tony’s safety, but for mine and Morgan’s and everyone else’s who was involved.”

Morgan glances up at her name, and Pepper runs her fingers over her hair until she looks back down. “Rhodey knows more of the details about this group, and we’ve told Tony only the bare bones. SHIELD is after them right now, but they’re apparently working off the grid, so they’re having trouble tracking them down. Once this is all straightened out, we can start thinking about coming out with the truth. By then, hopefully Tony will be mostly recovered. Right now, he can’t really protect himself if something does happen.”

May sighs, feeling the stress of her life as the guardian of a superhero wash over her. “Which is probably why Peter doesn’t want to leave him. He was practically begging me to stay there over the phone yesterday. He couldn’t really explain much to me because clearly we can’t talk about this over our phones, but now I understand perfectly.”

The waitress returns with their fries and drinks and then takes their orders. When she leaves, Morgan is dipping a fry into a pile of ketchup on a small plate, looking as happy as can be. She’s a smart kid, May thinks, but she is still too young to understand completely what’s going on. May only wishes Peter were that young again so she could protect him better. 

“He’ll be okay,” Happy says, rubbing her back.

In the end, they have a good lunch and catch up on everything they’ve missed in each other’s lives. May and Pepper agree that Peter should stay for two weeks at the lake house and then two weeks back at home before coming back. At that point, they’ll re-evaluate depending on a number of factors like how Tony’s doing in his recovery, and what SHIELD’s progress is in catching the individuals after the stones. May and Happy leave with hugs from both Pepper and Morgan, and May definitely feels better about the situation as a whole. 

Her biggest worry now--besides, of course, the enhanced individuals coming after Tony and by proxy, Peter--is how in the hell she’s going to keep Peter in Queens for two full weeks when he’s worried sick about Tony.


	7. Curve of the Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter feels sick all of a sudden while he watches Morgan climb up the ladder. “Morgan!” he yells to her from the ground once she’s at the top. “Happy and May are friends.”
> 
> She pokes her head out from the door. “Yeah! Like Mommy and Daddy are friends!” and then disappears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished chapter 10 yesterday, so here is 7 for you :). Please let me know what you think! <3 I love your comments and kudos!!

Chapter 7

When Pepper and Morgan return to the lake house that afternoon, Peter receives the news that he can stay for two full weeks before he has to return to Queens and stay there for another two weeks before returning. He tries to argue with Pepper but she won’t let him and tells him that the decision was ultimately up to his aunt. And it’s not that Peter doesn’t want to see his aunt--of course, he does-- it’s just that he can’t leave Mr Stark in this house without him. He can’t. Why won’t anyone understand that?

Morgan is holding his hand and pulling him across the yard towards the dense trees at the edge of the forest. “I tried to tell them you should stay forever,” she says, tugging on his hand when he slows down. “I tried to tell Auntie May that you needed to be with me and Daddy, but then Mommy told me that Auntie May is like your mommy.” They get to the edge of the trees and she stops, looking up at him. “I didn’t know that, Petey. I’m sorry. But they said I’m still your sister.”

“Of course, you are,” Peter says, smiling down at her.

“What I don’t really get is why Uncle Happy isn’t your daddy.” She tugs on his hand again.

“Why would Happy be my dad?” Peter wonders out loud. “Happy isn’t even my uncle. He’s like your dad’s glorified chauffeur.”

“ _Our_ dad,” Morgan says, a little more forcefully this time. “And it’s because Auntie May is married to Uncle Happy.”

Peter bursts out laughing. “What are you talking about, Morgan? Just because Happy is your uncle and May is your aunt, doesn’t mean they’re married.”

But Morgan doesn’t find this funny. She just pulls Peter farther into the woods until they get to two large trees by the lake. Built between them is an elaborate treehouse. It has a ladder going up one of the trunks, and Morgan lets go of Peter’s hand to put her foot on the lowest rung. “Maybe they’re not married,” she says, turning to look at him. “Maybe they just love each other. Mommy says that not everyone who loves each other is married.”

Peter feels sick all of a sudden while he watches Morgan climb up the ladder. “Morgan!” he yells to her from the ground once she’s at the top. “Happy and May are friends.”

She pokes her head out from the door. “Yeah! Like Mommy and Daddy are friends!” and then disappears.

Peter doesn’t have the energy to process what she has just said. Clearly, Morgan is confused. She is four years old, after all. Albeit, a smart four year old, but she still can’t know much about relationship and love. She has to be confused. Then again, he did get a weird feeling that morning when Pepper mentioned May and Happy in the same sentence before she and Morgan left the house. Was something going on that he didn’t know about? After all, he’d been gone for five whole years. But would May really not tell him about it? That’s what makes him feel confident that Morgan is confused. Because he and May tell each other everything. There is no way she would ever keep something this big from him. End of story.

“Come on, Petey!” Morgan calls.

Peter easily climbs up the trunk of the tree, ignoring the rungs and just sticking to the bark instead. It feels good to climb, and there’s a part of him that misses being Spider-Man, but he’s committed to protecting Mr Stark, so he doesn’t really care too much about swinging around Queens at the current moment. He makes it to the top and climbs through the Morgan sized doorway so he can look around and check the place out. 

And it’s amazing. The inside looks like a miniature house. The room they’re in has a mini couch, a mini chair, and a mini coffee table. The floor is covered by an intricately braided rug, and Morgan’s artwork is even framed and hung on the walls. He immediately spots a drawing of himself hanging over the couch. “Did Dad build this?” he asks, taking a seat on the floor because he’s afraid he’d break the little chair. 

Morgan nods, her smile lighting up the whole room. “Daddy and I used to spend a lot of time together before he got hurt. Mommy works a lot but Daddy was with me all the time. Did you know that sometimes Auntie May would babysit me? She would let me sleep in your bed when I spent the night. And then Uncle Happy would make me pancakes in the morning.”

Peter blinks at her. He doesn’t want to talk about this! What the hell was Happy doing at his apartment in the morning? Could what Morgan said earlier possibly be true? And May didn’t tell him in the whole two months he’s been back? What even is this world now? Was everyone keeping secrets from him?

The next thing he knows, Morgan is leaning into him and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. “I’m sorry, Petey. I didn’t mean to sleep in your bed. But Auntie May said you wouldn’t mind.”

He puts his hand on her back and lets out his breath. “I’m not mad at you, Morgan,” he says, his voice a little wobbly. “It’s just…” He takes in a shaky breath. “No one told me… that Happy makes pancakes.”

Peter spends the next two hours entertaining Morgan in and around the treehouse. He even climbs up into the tree a little ways, hanging onto her with one arm. Then they sit on a high branch and watch while Kendra gets into her car and drives away from the lake house.

“This is really high,” Morgan says once the car is out of sight. “Can we go up higher?”

“Maybe next time. I think we should go back to the house and make sure Dad’s alright. Hang on tight, okay?” He starts to descend down the tree, carefully stepping around the branches and making sure none of the limbs hit his sister.

She tightens her hold. “Why wouldn’t he be alright? Will you take me swinging through the city? Like you do in your videos?”

“Um,” Peter says, thinking about it. He’s pretty sure that Pepper and Mr Stark wouldn’t like that, so he has to be careful about how he answers. “Maybe when you’re older. If we get permission.”

“How old? Like five? I’ll be in kindergarten!”

“Maybe a little older.” He finally reaches the ground and hops down, landing solidly on his feet. 

“That was so much fun!” Morgan squeals, squirming until he lowers her to the ground. “Now let’s go get popsicles!” 

Peter can’t say no to popsicles, so he runs after her through the trees and then the yard and then up the steps of the porch. She nearly collides with Pepper’s legs, and Peter grabs hold of the doorframe to stop himself from knocking the both of them over. 

“No running in the house,” Pepper says, patting Morgan on the head and then squeezing Peter’s arm. “Snacks in the kitchen. Go help yourself.”

For a second, Peter considers asking Pepper about Happy and May, but he’s not sure he should. For one thing, Morgan is still there, and he doesn’t want to upset her. The truth is, he kind of feels a little betrayed. Or maybe betrayed isn’t the best word for it. Maybe he feels more left out. Like no one bothered to tell him for whatever reason. And it hurts. He wants to call May and ask her, but he’s a little afraid to. May hasn’t dated at all since Uncle Ben died, and they’ve never had to have a conversation like this yet. It was a little scary.

“Are you okay, Peter?” Pepper asks.

Peter realizes he’s been standing there in the doorway while Morgan has already ran off to the kitchen in search of snacks. He takes in a breath. “Yeah, I’m okay. I think I want to talk to Mr Stark though. Can you watch Morgan for a while?”

Pepper just laughs. “You don’t have to ask me to watch her. She’s my daughter, and you aren’t the babysitter. Go grab some food from the kitchen, and then you can go talk to Tony. He’s resting in his room.”

Peter sighs because she brought up the food thing again. But he doesn’t want to argue, most of all about that, so he does as he’s told and rushes into the kitchen to fill up his plate with slices of apples and strawberries and bananas. He throws on some berries and then looks up at Morgan who’s watching him from her spot at the table in front of her much smaller portion. 

“Aren’t you going to sit down?” she asks, using her big brown eyes once again to try and sway him.

“Sorry, Morgan. I need to talk to Dad about something. You stay here.”

She drops her apple slice. “But why can’t I come?”

“Um…” He pauses, thinking about how best to phrase it. “It’s sort of grown up stuff. But don’t worry. We’ll play more later, okay?”

“But you’re not a grown up!” she says, her eyes narrowing at him. 

Pepper comes into the kitchen and sits down beside her daughter. “More grown up than you, little miss. Now eat your fruit. Peter’s going to go talk to Daddy.”

“Thanks!” Peter says and slips out of the kitchen before Morgan can try to stop him. Now he knows what it’s like to have a little sister. He loves her, but he also doesn’t want to spend every single second of every day with her. It can be a little exhausting.

He rushes to Mr Stark’s room and then slowly leans toward the door, listening closely. It’s quiet save for Mr Stark’s steady breathing. Peter doesn’t want to wake him up if he’s sleeping, but he’s a little too selfish to walk away, so he carefully opens the door and peeks through the crack. It appears that Mr Stark has fallen asleep on his bed. He’s lying on his good side, and his blanket is pulled up to his shoulders.

Peter thinks that Mr Stark won’t mind too much if he gets in beside him. He’s done it the last two nights in a row, anyway. So, being careful to be as quiet as he can, he tiptoes across the room and then slowly approaches the bed. After he sets the plate of fruit down on the bedside table and promptly forgets about it, he climbs up beside Mr Stark and gets comfortable on his back. 

Mr Stark’s eyes are still closed. However, he has a little smirk on his face.

“You’re not sleeping, are you?” Peter asks.

Mr Stark opens his eyes. “I’m sadly used to children crawling into bed when I’m trying to sleep. This is no different than any normal day, Pete. Just get under the covers and tell me what’s wrong.”

Peter frowns at him. “How did you know something was wrong?”

“A father’s instinct,” Mr Stark replies. “Now, come on. Out with it.”

Peter sighs and shifts so that he can get the covers out from underneath himself enough to crawl beneath them. He settles back into the pillows beside Mr Stark and then folds his arms over his chest. “Morgan told me something I didn’t know. Something that no one has bothered to tell me. I mean, I’m still kind of mad that no one told me you were alive and now this? It’s not fair.”

When Peter glances at him, Mr Stark looks a little confused. “Pete, I don’t know what it is. Morgan hears a lot of stuff she probably shouldn’t hear people say. Personally, I haven’t been purposely hiding anything from you. You wanna know something? Just ask. I’m an open book.”

Peter deflates. “I’m not mad at you, Mr Stark. I know it’s not your fault. I just think that maybe in the two months that I’ve been back, it would have been just a little important for May to tell me that she’s dating again? That it’s apparently so serious that Morgan thinks she and Happy are married? I think that’s kind of a big deal! Don’t you?”

“Oh, I see.” Mr Stark rolls onto his back. He bends his right leg and rubs the muscle by his knee. “According to Kendra, I’m getting stronger, but it sure hurts like hell. Which—” he says, looking over at Peter, “is probably a little like how you feel. I’m thinking May didn’t want to tell you right away because you were having such a hard time already. Like maybe she was letting you heal a little before throwing a curveball at your head. I wish Kendra gave me some time to heal, but she keeps coming back day after day after day…” 

“Sometimes it’s just best to deal with it and get it over with,” Peter mutters, moving to his side. “Did she think I couldn’t handle it? I mean, sure, it feels like Uncle Ben just died a year ago, but it’s actually been six years. She’s allowed to move on. Especially since I wasn’t here, and she was by herself all that time. I wouldn’t expect her to just sit at home and do nothing. I’m just hurt that she felt like she couldn’t tell me.”

“Are you upset she’s with Happy?” Mr Stark asks. 

“No, not really.” Peter scoots closer so he can rest the side of his face against Mr Stark’s shoulder. He doesn’t want to be too clingy, but it grounds him a little and reminds him that all of this is real. He feels like he spent forever wanting to escape reality, and now that Mr Stark is okay, he has to remind himself that he is, too. “Happy’s alright. I mean, he’s a little grumpy sometimes, I guess. How long has this all been going on, anyway?”

“I don’t know, maybe a year? A year and a half? They were friends before that.”

Peter grumbles, and Mr Stark’s hand comes up to pat his face. It’s at an awkward angle, and he almost gets his eye poked. “Ow.”

Mr Stark laughs. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that. Come on, kid. It’s going to be alright. So May has a boyfriend. At least it’s someone we trust. Can you imagine if she were dating some random weirdo that didn’t know anything about your spider activities? That would be weird.”

Peter smiles. “I guess that’s true.”

“And I trust him,” Mr Stark adds. “Happy is without a doubt, one of the best men I know. Besides me, of course. I’m pretty awesome. What I mean is, I wouldn’t trust just anyone, but I definitely trust him. So there’s nothing to worry about in that regard. You and May are in safe hands, all the time.”

Peter has to blink back tears because now he’s thinking about what will happen when he has to go back to Queens. Not only does he not want to confront May about what’s been going on while he was gone, but he also can’t even imagine leaving Mr Stark. “I don’t want to go back,” he says, squeezing his eyes shut and hoping he can stave off the tears.

“Aw, Pete. It’s alright. You’ve only been here three days. You have a whole week and a half left to hang out with us.” Mr Stark struggles to sit up, but when he finally does, he runs his hand over Peter’s hair, gently trying to soothe him. “You’re okay. And I’m just fine. Nothing is going to happen in the two weeks you’re gone. I promise.”

Peter thinks that he shouldn’t promise that because he doesn’t know, but he doesn’t say it out loud. He doesn’t want the fear of leaving to taint the remaining time he has with Mr Stark at the lake house, but he can’t stop the fear from creeping into his thoughts and crawling into his veins. He remembers how scared he was the previous night, and while his fear is dulled in the daytime light, he knows it will return again, strong as ever, when it’s dark. 

“Do you want to call May and talk to her about Happy?” Mr Stark suggests while he brushes the hair from his forehead. “Or do you want me to talk to her?”

“You’re not allowed to call her,” Peter mumbles into the pillow. “Remember?”

“Do you want Pepper to talk to her?” Mr Stark amends. 

“No, definitely not that. She’ll think I’m being a baby.”

Mr Stark sighs as he brushes Peter’s hair back again. “No, she won’t. She deals with me every single day. I think she can handle your concern over your aunt. It’s normal, Pete.”

“I’ll call her,” Peter decides after a few moments of closing his eyes, letting Mr Stark’s hand in his hair lull him closer to sleep. “Maybe tomorrow.”

~*~

Tony waits until he’s sure Peter’s asleep and then eases off the bed. He knows he can make it to the living room by himself, so that’s what he does. He leans on his crutch until he gets to the door, and then does his best to quietly open it. Pepper is sitting on the couch with her Stark pad, a sleeping Morgan on the cushion next to her. When she sees Tony, she gets up to help him.

“I wish you’d be more careful,” she says quietly after she puts her arm around him to make sure he doesn't stumble. 

“I’m perfectly fine,” he says but lets her help him anyway. “This is what I do physical therapy for. So I can walk on my own. I could have made it to the couch by myself, by the way.”

“I’d just rather you’d not fall and hit your head on the coffee table or something.”

He looks at her through narrowed eyes for a few seconds. He hates it so much that she doesn’t even trust him to walk on his own much less do anything else. He feels like like an invalid that way, and he wants it to stop. All he can even do is get stronger so he can do things by himself better, and she won’t even let him walk across the fucking room.

“How’s Peter?” she asks when they sit on the couch opposite of where Morgan has crashed for her impromptu nap. 

“Sleeping.” He glances at Morgan. “Must be kiddie nap time.”

Pepper brushes his hair from his forehead. “He looked pretty distraught before he went in to talk to you.”

“He was,” Tony says, rubbing his thigh muscle again. “Morgan spilled the beans about Happy and May. I’m sure May has a reason for not telling him about that yet, but he was a little hurt by it. First no one tells him about me, and then he finds out he’s in the dark about that. Can’t be easy for the kid.”

“Maybe I should call May…” she says, letting her hand fall to his arm. “Give her a heads up so she can decide what to say to him.”

“No. Don’t do that.” He turns to look at her, and she almost looks offended. “Look, I may be crippled, but I still have a brain that works. I’m allowed to have an opinion, especially when it comes to my kid. And he told me that he didn’t want you to call May. He said he would call her himself tomorrow. Which I think is very grown up of him.”

Pepper leans back, looking like she’s digesting his words. “Okay. You’re right. That’s his decision to make. I won’t call her. But look, Tony, you need to stop thinking that I’m against you. Look at me. We’re on the same side. Got it?”

He turns away and shakes off her hand.

“Tony,” she says, trying to touch him again. “Look at me. I love you. I’m not trying to keep you away from Peter. We just have to think everything through before we do things. Ugh, I wish you would understand me.”

He turns his head to look at her. “I wish you would understand me. How would you like to have no arm? How would you like to be locked up in your own house? How would you like it if Morgan thought you were dead, and you couldn’t tell her you were alive? Not so fun, huh?”

Pepper just stares at him, looking hurt. “I’m not having fun, Tony. I know this is hard for you. None of this is fun for any of us, but you know what? Excuse me for being glad that you’re alive.”

He has his mouth open to give her another smartass retort, but he quickly loses steam and closes it, his shoulders falling. He didn’t expect her to say that. He expected her to go on about how this was best for everyone and if he could just see that it was the right thing blah blah blah. He had completely forgotten that the alternative to him recovering was being dead.

“I love you, Tony,” she says, her hand sliding against his cheek and into his hair. “I’m sorry if I’m being too overbearing. I’m sorry if you feel like I’m not listening to you. I just want this to all be over with and for you to get as close to normal as you can. I want you to be able to be with Peter and Morgan whenever you want. And go wherever you want to go. I’m not trying to hold you back. I’m just scared that something bad will happen if we’re not careful.”

He lets her kiss him then, and he closes his eyes, savoring the feeling. It feels like it’s been so long since they’ve kissed. After the battle, he was out of it for what felt like forever, and then he was pissed off for so long, that they haven’t really been close. “I love you, too,” he mutters when she pulls away. “And I’m sorry I’ve been such an asshole. This is just… well, it’s really hard. I want my life back. This time with Peter in it, too.”

“Okay.” Pepper nods, giving him another quick kiss. “We’ll work towards that. And let’s also work towards listening to each other better. Okay?”

“Yeah,” he says softly, getting his arm around her waist to pull her in. “That’s probably a good idea.”

She chuckles. “Probably?”

“Shh.” He smiles and presses a kiss to her neck. “You be quiet.”


	8. Bulletproof Weeks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter doesn’t make a move to get up. “W-will she be okay with me waking her up? She’s not going to cry or anything, will she?”
> 
> Mr Stark almost laughs. “Are you kidding? She practically worships you. And for some reason if she does cry, you can blame it on me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh! I just finished chapter 11, so here's 8 for you! I'm gonna try again to get a chapter done over the weekend so that I can post 9 for you early next week. I hope you're still enjoying the story! Thank you so much for your comments and kudos. Much love to you all!

When Peter wakes up, he’s once again in Mr Stark’s hospital bed, all by himself and squinting at the evening sunlight that’s coming through the blinds. He’s starving, but the fruit he carried in there has turned mostly brown. The clock on the wall says it’s just after six, and he can’t believe he’s been sleeping so long. So he stretches and makes his way out of bed and towards the living room, where he finds the entire household sitting around the coffee table with cartons upon cartons of Chinese food.

“No one woke me?” he says, looking at them, betrayed.

“We literally just started five minutes ago,” Mr Stark says, patting the cushion beside himself. “Come on, kid. I got tons of food.”

On his way to the couch, Pepper hands him a paper plate and Morgan begins telling him all about a show she’s watching. Peter has never heard of it, and it seems pretty silly, but then again, she is four years old. Peter fills his plate and laughs along with Morgan’s funny expressions while she’s trying to eat fried rice at the same time. 

He doesn’t even think about all the things that were upsetting him before until he’s pushing Mr Stark toward the garage in the dark after supper. They are going to work on the arm some more, but the dark is unnerving to Peter, and it’s starting to permeate through his being.

“Mr Stark,” he says in a hushed voice. “I’m not entirely sure what I sensed was a deer last night.”

Mr Stark turns his head slightly to look at him. “Are you sensing something now?”

“No,” Peter says, picking up the pace until they’re in front of the side door of the garage. “I mean, I don’t think I am. I think I’m just a little freaked out.” He practically lifts the wheelchair over the bump in the threshold and then pushes the door shut behind himself. Now that they’re safely inside the garage, Peter feels a little better.

“Couch,” Mr Stark says, pointing to the couch at the other end of the garage. “Sitting on that stool last time killed me. Let’s talk a little, too.”

Peter does as he’s asked and then spots Mr Stark while he gets onto the couch. Then he grabs everything he needs to keep working on the arm, this time rigging up the holographic monitors to display in front of them so he has some visual direction on the next step. Just before he’s about to start, he sighs and looks at Mr Stark. “I’m happy,” he says. “I really am. I’m so, so happy that you’re okay. You have no idea.”

Mr Stark lets out a chuckle. “I actually think I do. You were gone for five years, Peter. I think we’re kind of mutually happy that we have each other back.”

“Okay, so maybe you do.” Peter pushes the tray with his work aside and carefully sets it on the cushion beside himself before he swipes away the screens and leans back, struggling to explain his feelings. “I’m just scared,” he says a little desperately. “And I feel like if SHIELD were really trying to hide you, you wouldn’t be here. Like you would be at some secure facility or in witness protection or something.”

“Didn’t you hear Morgan earlier?” Mr Stark says, smiling at him gently. “This house and the surrounding property is classified. And if anyone did make it here, they can’t see anyone on the property. Remember our discussion about that last night, kiddo? Or were you too sleepy?”

“No, I remember,” Peter says, suddenly feeling tired. “It’s just that what if these people who are looking for the stones have some kind of fancy tech, and they can break through the barrier? What if they’re shapeshifters or if they can enter the property without being detected due to their unique chemical makeup? We don’t even know if they’re human, Mr Stark.”

Mr Stark reaches over to ruffle his hair. “You don’t think that’s been thought of already? I mean, I know you’re smart, buddy, but this is what SHIELD does for a living. I’m safe here, and if I didn’t think so, I would never ask the people I love the most to be here with me. Wouldn’t consider it in a million years.”

It’s like a small weight has been lifted from Peter’s shoulders. He feels a little better and breathes a little more easily knowing that Mr Stark trusts the tech that surrounds his property. It doesn’t mean that nothing can happen, but when it comes to tech, if there’s anyone he trusts out of all the billions of people on Earth, it’s definitely Tony Stark. “Okay,” he says, finally taking in a full breath. “I’ll try not to be afraid about that. But Mr Stark.” He turns to him and looks at him with pleading eyes. “Maybe if this is the safest place to be, maybe Aunt May should come here and stay with us this summer. That way I can be here with you, and everyone will definitely be a hundred percent safer. Don’t you think?”

 

“Ugh,” Mr Stark grumbles, looking away from him and rubbing at his temple, the one without the burn. “Your big eyes can definitely give Morgan’s a run for her money. However…” He looks back at Peter. “I don’t get to make those kinds of decisions for you, buddy. You know that’s all up to your aunt. And like you pointed out earlier, I can’t even talk to her. Not unless she comes here, and Happy had a hell of a time sneaking just you in this place. You, mister, are on summer vacation. May has a job, and commitments, and people that would definitely notice if she was gone for the entire summer.”

“She could say she’s backpacking through Europe,” Peter says, feeling like he might have a chance at this. “Or like, visiting a sick old relative or something. She could go on leave from her job.”

Mr Stark raises an eyebrow. “And just how would she be paying her rent if she’s not making any money?”

Peter shoulders fall and he blinks at him. “Well…”

“And before you suggest it, she won’t take money from me. Not for anything. Even though it was my fault you got on that spaceship, and it was my fault that we couldn’t stop Thanos back then, she still would not take any assistance from me. So if you think she will now, I can already tell you that you’re mistaken.” 

Peter deflates even more. He hadn’t actually been going to suggest that Mr Stark pay for their rent. In fact, he wasn’t sure what he was going to say… maybe a loan or something? But Mr Stark is right, May isn’t going to take assistance, and she’s not going to go into debt either. “I’ll think about it some more,” he says, reaching for the tray so he can get to work on the arm at least. It needs to be done if he’s going to be forced to leave, because Mr Stark needs to protect himself while he’s gone. He knows that Mr Stark says he’s safe, but he needs to be prepared, just in case.

“Hey, I’m sorry, Pete.” Mr Stark rubs his shoulder. “You’ll be back before you know it. Your aunt isn’t going to keep you away from here. She loves you a lot and wants you to be happy. So do I, and so does everyone else. And also, it’s only been three days. Come on, it’s going to be okay. Just trust us, okay?”

Peter nods and grabs his screwdriver. “I want to make a lot of progress on this tonight,” he says, trying his best not to be disappointed.

Mr Stark leans in to see what he’s doing. “We will. I wish I could help more. Hey, tomorrow, I have an idea. Let’s get to bed a little early and then you, Morgan, and I can cook Pepper breakfast. She works hard and has done so much for everyone. I think she deserves it. Don’t you?”

Peter nods, smiling at him from around the pieces he’s already put together. This is something he can get on board with. When he was younger, he and Ben used to surprise May with breakfast because she worked so hard for their family. He feels like it’s been forever since he’s been part of something so big, and it makes him excited. He just wishes May were there so they could cook for her, too. “I’m really good at making bacon,” he says. “Practically an expert.”

Mr Stark grins. “Well, Bacon Chef Extraordinaire, do I have a job for you.”

They work on the arm for several more hours while they discuss the particulars of the breakfast surprise. Since Rhodey is out running errands, Peter sends him a few texts to make sure he picks up all the supplies they’ll need for the morning. Together, they decide that it’s probably best not to tell Morgan until they wake her up in the morning, as she isn’t the best secret keeper around. Then Mr Stark jokes that that’s another thing she and Peter have in common, and Peter tries his best to look offended, but the truth is he’s so happy that Mr Stark is around to poke fun at him, that he doesn’t even care.

He sleeps fairly well that night. The excitement for the morning is much easier to think about than all his other problems. It helps him to sleep through the night, and he doesn’t wake up until Mr Stark is at his bedside, gently nudging him until his eyes open.

At first, he startles and almost hits Mr Stark out of the way. His hand just misses, and his heart is beating wildly as he stares up into Mr Stark’s face with big, blinking eyes. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—”

“Relax,” Mr Stark says, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Everything’s fine. I just need you to go wake Morgan up so we can get started on breakfast. Pepper’ll kill me if I go up the stairs without help, and it’s much easier for you, anyway.”

Peter doesn’t make a move to get up. “W-will she be okay with me waking her up? She’s not going to cry or anything, will she?”

Mr Stark almost laughs. “Are you kidding? She practically worships you. And for some reason if she does cry, you can blame it on me.”

“Mr _Stark_!” Peter whines, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “She better not cry or I’m never waking her up again.”

“Okay, deal, but be a good kid and help me to the couch. I already used all my energy getting to your room.”

So Peter does exactly that. He even starts the coffee for Mr Stark before he goes up the stairs to where he knows Morgan’s room is. It’s really quiet once he gets to the landing at the top of the staircase. Clearly, Pepper and Morgan and even Rhodey are all fast asleep. Peter is pretty stealthy if he does say so himself, so he tip toes as quietly as he can to Morgan’s room and then gently opens the door, pushing it open until it’s just wide enough for him to slip inside.

The room is still pretty dark, the light barely streaming through the cracks in the curtains. Peter can see Morgan in her bed, rolled up in her covers, her head half buried between them and her pillows. He’s nervous to wake her. He’s so used to being an only child, that he doesn’t really know how to do this. But he promised he would, so he takes in a deep breath and gently rubs her back, just how Mr Stark had woken him up earlier. He feels like that’s a pretty safe bet. 

“Hey, Morgan,” he says softly. “Time to wake up. Are you hungry?”

Her eyes slowly blink open, much differently than how he had roused. When their eyes meet, he’s not sure if she’s going to cry at first, but then her face melts into a warm smile, and she reaches out to him.

Peter is so relieved when he gathers her up his arms, hugging her close while she wraps her arms around his neck. Sleepy Morgan is so soft and cuddly. She just lies her head down on his shoulder and curls into him like he’s always been her big brother.

If he hadn’t realized it before, he definitely realizes it now--he loves her so much.

“Dad has a surprise downstairs,” he whispers to her before they reach her door.

“Is it more donuts?” she asks, her head not moving from his shoulder.

He waits until they get to the stairs before he replies. Waking Pepper up now would ruin everything. “I don’t think it’s donuts. What about pancakes and bacon? How does that sound?”

Morgan leans away from him a little and grins. “I love pancakes!”

“Great!” Mr Stark says from the couch. “Then you can help me make them. Pete’s on bacon duty. Oh.” He points down the hall. “Make sure she goes to the bathroom before we start.”

Peter is wondering how he’s going to do that when he realizes he should probably use the restroom as well. “She can go by herself, right?” he asks, lowering Morgan to the floor.

“I’m almost five!” Morgan reminds him, holding up all five fingers on her right hand. “Of course I can go potty by myself, silly.”

“Then go,” Mr Stark says, waving his hand towards the half bathroom by the kitchen.

Peter grins at him. “Actually, I should go, too. Be right back!” And then he takes off. But he doesn’t miss Mr Stark muttering, “Kids!” under his breath.

~*~

When Pepper wakes up and goes to check on Morgan, she finds her daughter’s bed tousled and empty. She figures Morgan has crawled into bed with Tony--again, so she yawns and makes her way down the stairs so she can start some coffee and think about what to make the kids for breakfast. She’s happy to have Peter there, of course, but he eats a hell of a lot more food than Morgan, so it’s a little bit of an adjustment.

She lets out another yawn as she rounds the corner to the kitchen, and then nearly falls over at the sight that greets her. Tony is seated on a chair in front of the stove, his one arm tightly around Morgan who has a big blue spatula in her hand and a giant oven mitt over the other. They’re both covered in pancake mix, but that’s not the most shocking part. Peter is sticking to the ceiling with another spatula, trying to scrape off a pancake that somehow flipped all the way up there.

She’s just about to ask what’s going on when the pancake falls right on her head, the batter running down the side of her face.

“Surprise, Mommy!” Morgan yells, raising both her arms in the air. “We made you breakfast!”

Pepper’s first reaction is to make a face and scrape the batter out of her hair, but then it hits her all at once how funny it is, and she bursts out laughing.

“I’m sorry!” Peter says from above them. “I didn’t get to it in time! If you hand me a paper towel, I’ll wipe it off the ceiling!”

Now Tony’s laughing and pointing to the roll of paper towels on the counter, but he’s laughing so hard, he can’t get out any words.

Morgan just looks like she might cry, so Pepper composes herself for her sake. “Don’t worry,” she says, wiping tears and batter from her face with the back of her hand. “I’m fine. I was going to take a shower anyway.”

Tony just laughs harder, so Peter lets go of the ceiling and lands gracefully on the kitchen tile in order to grab the paper towels for himself. He hands several to Pepper before jumping back up and carefully wiping up the mess.

“Oh, Peter, please get down,” Pepper says, recovering while she wipes the biggest clumps out of her hair. “I don’t want you to get hurt. Also, that’s not the worst thing that’s been on the ceiling.” While Peter’s wiping the remainder of the batter of the ceiling, she takes Morgan from Tony and gives her a hug and a kiss. “Did you really make me breakfast? I love pancakes!”

“Daddy and I made the pancakes!” Morgan says, cheering up instantly. “Petey made the bacon. Lots and lots of bacon. Did you know how much Petey loves bacon? A lot.”

Pepper laughs. “I think I knew that. Speaking of which…” She looks up at Peter who’s still on the ceiling. “Please get down from there. You’re making me nervous.”

Peter immediately flips down. “Sorry!” He tosses all the used paper towels in the trash and then hops to setting the table for everyone.

He’s such a good kid, Pepper thinks while she watches him dash back and forth with the utensils and the plates. May really raised him well. She’s definitely going to keep her on speed dial for when she needs help with Morgan in the future.

Tony is struggling to get up from his chair, so Pepper lowers Morgan to the ground and then reaches to help him up. She gets her arms around him when he’s upright and presses a kiss to the side of his face. “Was this your idea?” she whispers into his ear.

He grins. “Well, I am the king of amazing ideas. So it wouldn’t be a complete surprise, would it?”

“And was it you who flipped the pancake onto the ceiling?”

“That would be our daughter,” he replies, winding his arm around her waist and pulling her close. “She can flip pancakes very high for a four year old. I was impressed. So was Peter.”

Pepper laughs when he kisses her a few times, first on her right cheek, then on her lips, and then on her left cheek. 

“Hmm,” he says, kissing the left one again. “Half cooked pancake batter. Not bad.”

~*~

Peter doesn’t really want to call his aunt and talk about how he’s been kept in the dark about her budding relationship with Happy since he’s been back from space, but he promised he would call today, and now that Mr Stark is in therapy, he figures now is as good a time as any. 

Rhodey is playing games with Morgan, so before Kendra arrives, it’s relatively easy for Peter to slip away without his sister following him. He makes his way to the tree house and decides that it would be the perfect hideout while he has his conversation with May. Even though Mr Stark assured him that no one could see onto the property because of the barrier, he still feels better if he’s behind closed doors--even if those closed doors are the tiny unlockable doors of the treehouse. 

So he shuts himself inside and gets comfortable, cross legged on the floor before connecting the call. 

“Hi, Peter!” May answers the phone, sounding excited to hear from him. “How are things going? Are you having fun?”

“Yeah, I love it here,” Peter says, and means it. He means it so much that he wishes she would let him stay longer, but he knows where that conversation will go, and anyway, that’s not the reason he’s calling. “I wanna tell you all about it, but maybe another time.” Clearly, he can’t because they aren’t allowed to talk about Mr Stark over the phone. “Actually, I was hoping we could talk about something else. Are you busy? Do you have a few minutes?”

“Yeah, I don’t leave for work until two. What’s going on? Everything okay?”

“I guess, it’s just…” Peter has to take in a few breaths to keep going. He doesn’t know why he’s so nervous to bring it up. It kind of feels like he’s calling her out, but honestly, she’s the one who should have told him when he got back, so it’s not his fault for having to bring it up. “I found out something,” he says, his voice sounding a little strangled. “I just really wish you would have told me. I mean, I already feel so left out from everything. It’s like half the world has moved on and I’ve been--stuck.”

“Peter?” she sounds concerned. “What is it?”

He swallows. “You and Happy. I found out.”

The line is quiet for what feels like forever.

“Hello?” he says.

“I’m so sorry, Peter,” she says, now sounding like she’s on the verge of tears. “It’s just you were dealing with so much. I didn’t want to give you something else on top of it all. I was going to tell you when you were back on your feet after… after what happened to Tony.” She pauses. “Are you mad?”

He bites his lip and tries to breathe for a few seconds. “A little, I guess. More hurt, actually. I feel really left out. From just about everything.”

“Oh, Pete. I’m really sorry. I should have told you before you left, but you were so distraught. I couldn’t put that on top of it all. Will you forgive me?”

Peter picks at a piece of the carpet that’s flipped up a little, and deliberately doesn’t answer her question. “You know what would make me feel better?”

She doesn’t answer right away. “What?”

“Staying here for the rest of the summer.”

Again, there’s a pause, and when she speaks again, her voice is no longer sympathetic. “Peter. We’ve been over this. I’m really sorry that I kept my relationship with Happy from you, but you have to come home at least a little bit this summer. You’re my kid, and I miss you. I agreed to share you, not give you away.”

He sighs and puts his head back against the wall. “But like, maybe both you and Happy could come here. That way you’re not really giving me up, and you can see me, but I can also stay here where I’m needed.”

“Where you’re needed? Pete, I need you, too,” she says. “And I was going to talk to you about this later, after I told you, but since you already know, maybe we can talk about it now. Happy wants us to move in with him. His place is bigger and safer. It’s farther from your school, but he says he can drive you every day. I think it would be… a really good change.”

At first, Peter is horrified. She wants to live with Happy? She wants him to _live with Happy_? Like all the time? He doesn’t even know where Happy lives. He assumed that Happy lived in the Avengers Tower, always at Mr Stark’s beck and call, but clearly he doesn’t live in the Tower anymore since Mr Stark sold it. Or maybe he never did.

“You’d have your own room and your own bathroom,” May goes on when he says nothing. “And the building has really great security, so we wouldn’t have to worry about people breaking in.”

“No one’s ever broken in!” he interrupts, desperate to find a reason why they shouldn’t move into Happy’s apartment.

“Peter,” she says, her voice calm. “They did. It was when you were gone. Some things were stolen, but no one was hurt. I’d just rather not worry about that anymore.”

And then Peter feels really bad because here he is protecting Mr Stark when May clearly also needs protection. He supposes she’s been with Happy since he left, but clearly, he was just slightly better at fighting off bad guys than Happy would ever be, even though Mr Stark says he’s a good boxer, Peter’s not sure how good. Can he stop a car with his bare hands? Probably not. “I’m sorry,” he says at last. “I didn’t know. But, like... “ He stops because he’s trying to think up reasons why they shouldn’t move and he should still be able to stay at the lake house, but he’s ran out. “Okay, maybe it might be a good idea then. But only if I can come here, too. I _need_ to be here, May. Please understand.”

“I understand, Peter. I’m not trying to keep you away. Let me talk to Happy, and see what he thinks about dates and stuff, and then we’ll make sure you come home to help lift the heavy things. Is that okay with you?”

Peter lights up. “You mean I can stay here until the move?”

“No,” May says right away. “No. You can come when we planned and start packing up your things. Then the next time you come home this summer, you can help us with the move. I’ll ask Happy about dates and get back to you though. He’s going to drive out there tomorrow, so you can talk to him then, too.”

“Great,” Peter says with no enthusiasm. Happy is fine, sure, but he doesn’t like thinking about him and his aunt together. Yuck. Double yuck.

“Be nice to him, please,” May says. “He’s a great guy, and he loves you, too. You are so lucky to have so many adults who care for you, Peter.”

He thinks that he’s not really that lucky considering he’s already lost three and almost a forth, but he keeps his mouth shut. She’s a little right. He’s lucky that he still has quite a few left, and especially Mr Stark, who he almost didn’t have. “I’ll be nice,” he says, rubbing the side of his face. This conversation is making him tired, and he could definitely use a nap.

“Promise you will.”

“I promise,” he says, frowning. “When am I ever mean to anyone?”

“You weren’t very nice to him on the ride there,” she says. “He said you were angry.”

“Yeah, I was angry! You know why I was angry! I was so sad, and you and Happy were making me do something I didn’t want to do. What should I have done? Be grateful for it?”

“Peter,” May says in a warning voice. “Don’t talk to me like that.”

He wipes the tears away that have formed in his eyes and takes in a wobbly breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just… this whole thing has been really hard for me. I just wanted someone on my side. Then I finally found that, and no one is letting me stay here.”

“Everyone is on your side,” she says. “Everyone, Peter. Please, just try to relax and get some fresh air. Everything is going to be okay. You hear me?”

It’s so hard for him to believe her, because so many times, things are _not_ okay. Before he knows what’s happening, he’s crying again, wiping at his tears and trying not to be too loud about it. She’s going to know when she hears him talk, though. “I’m a-afraid,” he finally says in a broken voice. “I know this is a safe place, but anything can happen, and I h-have to be here if it does. Please, May.”

“Oh, honey, please don’t cry. I swear, everything will work out. When Happy gets there, why don’t you talk to him about this. Then when I see him again, he can tell me what he thinks about it. He can talk to Pepper and everyone, too, and we’ll all decide what to do as a family. Okay?”

There’s a split second where he feels hope. “So, maybe I can stay?”

“Maybe we’ll alter the dates a little. Based on what’s best for everyone. Okay?”

He wipes his eyes and nose with the back of his hand. “Okay. I guess that’s reasonable.”

“Good. I have to start getting ready for work, but you be good for Pepper, alright? Is there anything you want me to send with Happy?”

Peter sniffs. “Uh, yeah. I forgot those two books on the summer reading list. I think I left them on the kitchen table. And will you send my favorite screwdriver? It’s on my desk.”

“Will do, sweetie,” May says. “Have a good day, and I love you lots.”

“I love you, too,” Peter says, wiping his eyes again and then disconnecting the call. He lowers his hand that’s holding his phone and takes in a big breath, trying to steady himself. He didn’t exactly get what he wanted, but maybe his aunt is starting to see things his way just a little bit. And that’s progress. 

He just wishes he didn’t have to move in with Happy. She is right about one thing though, if she had told him before he left for the lake house, he’s pretty sure he would have been ten times more upset about it than he is now. So in that way, he doesn’t really blame her for waiting. Happy’s not that bad, though. Maybe it’ll even be okay like she says.


	9. Little Victories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey,” Happy says, sitting down on the chair adjacent from him. “You got a second?”
> 
> Tony waves him away. “I’m busy watching my kids be adorable. Go away.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay! I was working on that short story for the iron dad Bingo (it was a 4th of July story so I wanted to get it out before the holiday!), and didn't have as much time to work on this because of it. Here's chapter 9! I hope you like it <3 I love all your kudos and comments!

Chapter 9

“So,” Tony says into the silence of his garage workshop while Peter works diligently on some nanobots. His therapy session had gone well, and Kendra had commented on his progress in the last week, so he’s happy. Maybe she’ll lay off a little tomorrow. But he’s also worried about Peter. He’s been awful quiet since they entered the workshop that afternoon. “Did you talk to your aunt?”

“Um...” Peter glances over at him. “Did you know that Happy is coming tomorrow?”

Tony almost laughs. “No. No one ever tells me anything. And if Happy isn’t here, I have absolutely no way of communicating with him. No phone, remember? And I’m pretty sure SHIELD would be pissed if I started writing people letters. Then again, that may be a little difficult considering I used to be right handed.”

Peter is looking at him a little horrified, but then he lets a smile break free. “Maybe you should practice writing with your left hand. I tried once. I’m pretty good at it.”

“Anyway, so Happy is coming tomorrow? What did May say when you told her you knew about them?” Tony clears his throat. “You did tell her, right?”

“I told her,” Peter says right away. “She felt bad. And then she told me that she and Happy want to move in together. She said I have to come back to help them move. Of course, I said I wanted to stay here with you. I mean, I didn’t say with you, but I think she knows that’s why. She said I had to come back home. She wouldn’t listen to anything I said. She said she misses me, and it’s not an option. Mr Stark—” Peter deflates. “I don’t know what to do. I need to stay here, and no matter what I say, she won’t listen to me.”

Tony feels bad. It’s because of him that Peter is going through all this. He just wants the kid to be happy and do things that any normal sixteen year old would do on his summer vacation. Instead, he’s worrying over the adults in his life. It’s not fair. “You’ll be there for a few days and then you’ll come right back here,” he says to try to make it easier for Peter. “She did say you could come back, right? I thought that was part of the deal.”

“Yeah,” Peter says, but he looks down, his expression dejected. “She also said I can talk to Happy about it more. I don’t know why she thinks Happy gets to make decisions about me now, but whatever.”

“He can be your new uncle,” Tony says, smiling at him. He likes to think that he already has possession of the ‘Dad’ title, and he definitely won’t give it up without a fight. Thankfully, he’s also Happy’s boss, or technically, Pepper is these days, but still. Tony plans on having a conversation with Happy regarding Peter, and he doesn’t expect there to be any problems. 

Peter glances up at him and then leans into his injured side gently. “I guess.”

The weight of Peter pressed against his burns is a little uncomfortable, but Tony doesn’t care. “Think of it like an extra person to care for you and watch out for you. Can’t have too many of those for the spider-kid.”

“That’s basically what May said,” Peter mumbles. “Happy already kind of looks out for me. Or, at least, he did five years ago, I guess. When he feels like answering his phone.”

“He will be on strict orders to answer every single phone call from you,” Tony says, reaching around to pat Peter on the cheek. “What else do you want from him? He has to listen to everything I say.”

Peter chuckles, and Tony grins. He’s so happy that he made the kid smile.

“Let’s see, hmm.” Peter pretends to think about it. “What I’d really like is if I’m telling him a story about anything, he can’t roll up the divider. He has to listen. And then if he doesn’t like what I say, he can’t give a smart ass reply.”

Now, Tony laughs. “Done. Maybe I can get him to do that for me, too. What do you think?”

“You might have to ask Pepper.”

Tony lightly slaps his cheek. “That’s enough sass out of you!”

~*~

“Come on, do I really have to go back there?” Happy says at the door of May’s apartment. He has his hand on the doorknob, but he wasn’t ready to actually leave.

May presses a bag filled with some things for Peter into his hands. “You told me you were going to go back today when you drove in on Saturday. This is your plan, not mine.”

He sighs. “I’d rather just stay.”

“And now you sound like Peter,” she says, narrowing her eyes at him. “If one more person begs me to stay somewhere, I’m gonna lose it. Besides, the real reason you don’t want to go back is because Peter knows about us, and you’re afraid of him. Admit it.”

“That kid can lift a school bus!” he says. “I think it’s perfectly reasonable to be afraid of him. However, I’m not. Kid’s a puppy dog. He’ll forgive me in a week. I’m not worried.”

“Are you going to stay there for a week?” May asks, raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Eh, probably not.” He turns the doorknob. “That’s a really long time to be away from you. Plus, I’m thinking maybe we could get a start moving a few things. We’ll leave the heavy things for Peter when he comes home.”

“Alright.” She leans in to kiss him. “Keep me posted.”

He leans back and clears his throat, giving her a half smile. “And you’re pretty firm on the date he comes back, right? You won’t give him a little wiggle room?”

May sighs. “What did I say about the next person who asks me to stay somewhere?”

He just laughs. “Come on. If he’s pissed at me, I could give him a few days… might make him like me more.”

“Fine. Two days wiggle room. If he’s really mean to you, you can take away two days, too.”

Happy is a little taken aback. “If I do that, Tony might kill me. The two of them ganging up on me does not look good for my well being. You do want to see me again, right?”

“I’ll leave it up to you.” She waits until he opens the door and then kisses him again. “Bye, Happy. Drive safely. Love you.”

With his hand around her waist, he struggles to let go. “Love you, too. I’ll call you tonight and let you know how it goes.”

They pull away from each other reluctantly and say a few more goodbyes before she finally closes the door and then Happy makes his way down the stairs. He feels like he’s on his way to the lion’s den and doesn’t have any choice about it. So once he gets to his car, he tosses his things in the back seat and then gets on the road. The journey is long, but at least he doesn’t have Peter sitting in the passenger seat shooting glares at him the whole way this time. No, instead he plays scenario after scenario in his mind about how it’s going to go down once he gets there.

When he finally gets to the town closest to the lake house, he stops to pick up ice cream for Peter and Morgan. He’s never known that kid to turn down ice cream, so it might work to his advantage. And of course, he can’t bring Peter ice cream if he doesn’t bring any for Morgan. The last thing he needs is two kids against him.

He gets both kids their favorites and takes them in to-go containers. Once he gets back to the car, he turns up the AC so the ice cream won’t melt and drives the remaining short distance until he’s pulling up in the long driveway and parking next to Rhodey’s car on the gravel. 

Happy isn’t sure why he’s so nervous. It’s just Peter. Maybe it’s because Peter has the potential to influence May. May loves Peter more than anything, and if Peter complains to her, she might listen. The best relationship he’s ever been in is possibly on the line, and that right there is the reason why he’s so damn nervous.

He tries to control his shaky hands while he walks up to the house.

Peter and Tony are sitting on the porch swing, Peter’s legs pulled up underneath him and Tony pushing them slowly back and forth with his feet. When they see Happy, Tony puts his feet down. 

“What’s that you got there, Hap?” he asks.

“Ice cream,” Happy says, glancing at Peter. “For the kids. This one’s for you, Peter.” After he was yelled at in the car, he definitely isn’t going to call the kid ‘Pete’ ever again. 

Tony holds out his hand while Peter stays still at his side. “The other one for me?”

“No…” Happy says, making his way up the stairs. “It’s for Morgan. You know, the only other kid here?”

“What?” Tony asks in disbelief just as the screen door flies open and Morgan hops out on the porch.

“Uncle Happy!” she squeals, running at him and wrapping herself around his legs. “Did you bring me ice cream? What kind?”

“Cotton Candy Bubble Gum, your favorite,” Happy says, handing her the dish in his left hand and then reaching in his pocket for the spoons. He struggles to get the plastic off of it and then hands it to her. “Here you go.”

“I love you, Uncle Happy!” Morgan says and takes the spoon, grinning up at him with the biggest smile he’s ever seen.

Tony laughs behind her. “Who knew you could buy her heart with sugar and dairy? Also, I saved the universe. Don’t you think I deserve some ice cream?”

“I’ll share with you, Daddy!” Morgan exclaimes and then runs towards where her dad and Peter are sitting. She sets her bowl in his lap and then climbs up on the other side of him. “I’ll share with you, too, Petey.”

Happy is still holding Peter’s Double Chocolate Cookie Dough, so he takes the opportunity to hand it to him. “Peter has his own, kiddo,” he says to Morgan.

Peter takes the bowl, but then just holds onto it, looking down at it as if it’s something other than a delicious treat.

Happy can clearly see Tony nudge him. 

“Thanks, Happy,” he says, but doesn’t look up.

“You’re welcome, kid. Oh, here’s your spoon.” He hands over the spoon, this time, still wrapped in plastic, and then goes back to the car to get his bags. He’s got his overnight bag as well as the bag of things that May has sent Peter, including some really awful bars she made that he’s tempted to throw in the trash, but he figures Peter can do that later if wants. If Happy gets accused of throwing them away, all hell might break loose. He has to be careful with everything if he wants to win Peter over.

Right now it seems like the kid doesn’t want to talk or look at him, which probably isn’t a good sign. Things are just going to be very awkward until they actually get to sit down and talk about it. He’s not really looking forward to that, either, but if it helps him turn things around, then it will definitely be worth it.

“What May sent you,” he says to Peter when he gets back to the porch. “Want me to put it in your room?”

It looks like Tony has commandeered not only part of Morgan’s ice cream, but Peter’s too, because both bowls are sitting on his lap. “You do you, Happy,” he says, trying to hand Peter a spoon.

Great, Happy thinks as he walks away. Now he’s got Tony against him, too. And that’s the absolute last thing he needs in this world.

~*~

Morgan practically decimated her ice cream and is twirling around on the lawn, singing made up songs to herself while her body works through the sugar. Peter, on the other hand, is staring down at a bowlful of mostly melted Double Chocolate Cookie Dough.

“I don’t know how he remembered my favorite kind,” he mutters, taking another bite. 

“Maybe…” Tony says, pushing the bowl into Peter’s hands. “Maybe he remembered because he thinks you’re a great kid? He told me that a long time ago by the way. Before he was cozying up to Aunt May, in case you’re wondering.”

Peter takes another bite, and the expression on his face is contemplative while he lets the ice cream melt in his mouth, “Maybe he and May should have told me what was going on right when I got back. It’s been over two months, Mr Stark. That’s a really long time to not know something that important.”

“I know, kid.” Tony puts his arm around Peter and squeezes his shoulder. “Happy is probably freaking out a little, too, though, don’t you think? Why else do you think he bought you ice cream and then stood there waiting for you to say something? He’s practically shaking in his boots because he thinks you’re mad at him.”

Peter sniffs, raising the spoon to his mouth again while he looks out at Morgan playing by herself in the yard. “Really? Do you think so?”

Tony’s heart breaks over this kid. Morgan is easy. She’s four, and he’s there for practically everything she does. But he feels a little out of the loop when it comes to Peter. May gets to make all the official decisions, and he can’t even talk to her about it. Instead, he feels like he just has to watch from the sidelines. It’s agonizing. “I know Happy pretty well,” he says, giving Peter’s arm another squeeze. “He may act tough, but inside, he’s just a big teddy bear. He liked you before he even knew May, and he knows you’re important to me, so I’m sure he’s freaking out on the inside. Maybe at least hear him out?”

“I guess,” Peter says.

“You do have the upper hand,” Tony says. “He may be the adult, but you hold all the cards.”

Peter turns his head to smile at him. “You’re right. I _do_ hold all the cards.”

“Hold up.” Tony pinches his arm. “You already know the spiel about using your powers for good and not evil.”

“Duh,” Peter says, rolling his eyes. “I’m Spider-Man, of course I know that.”

“Then maybe you can make him sweat just a little bit before telling him you don’t hate him.”

“Petey!” Morgan yells from the lawn. “I just saw a fish flip in the water all the way from here! Will you come on the dock with me? I’m not allowed to go alone.”

Peter hesitates, looking at Tony for permission.

“Go on,” he says, patting Peter’s back and then giving him a little push. “I’ll be fine right here. Don’t worry about me.”

Once Peter is up, he looks back at Tony, his expression just a little bit sad. “I always worry about you. But I’ll be on the dock like fifty feet from here, so… yell if you need me, okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” Tony says, but Peter doesn’t budge from where he’s standing, so he adds, “Okay. Fine. I’ll yell if I need you. Promise.”

He smiles, satisfied, and then Tony watches him run out and scoop Morgan up in his arms before making his way towards the dock. His heart swells to see Peter holding Morgan at the end of the dock while they both point out things in the water. Morgan giggles and puts her arms around his neck, hanging on tight. Tony has never been happier than when he sees them together.

“Hey,” Happy says, sitting down on the chair adjacent from him. “You got a second?”

Tony waves him away. “I’m busy watching my kids be adorable. Go away.”

“Come on, Tony,” Happy practically whines. “I need to talk to you.”

Tony sighs and turns toward him. He’s willing to talk to Happy, of course. He just doesn’t want Happy to know that he thinks Happy’s partially responsible for hurting Peter’s feelings, so he doesn’t want to make things too easy for him. “Okay. What’s up?”

“Peter,” Happy says. “He hates me, doesn’t he.”

“No,” Tony rolls his eyes and leans back a little in seat. “He’s Peter. He doesn’t hate anyone. He occasionally gets a little annoyed at people. Maybe even angry at times, but he’s not capable of hating anyone. Including you.”

“You’re right,” Happy says, and he looks like he’s been sweating a little. He’s probably stressed over everything. “Will you tell me what I have to do to get him to talk to me again?”

Tony shrugs. “I don’t know, that’s up to him. But he did mention to me that he’d like it if you answered the phone when he calls. And maybe stop putting up the divider in the car when he’s trying to talk to you. Those things might help. Especially the phone one since I’m sort of out of commission so I can’t exactly help him if he’s in trouble. Got it?”

Happy stares at him for a few seconds, his mouth in a thin line, before he sighs. “I’ve been off spider babysitting duty for five years. I think I can handle it again. I guess that’s going to be my new job title considering I’ll have both you and May on me if I don’t.”

“I hear it pays really well,” Tony says, looking back at the kids on the dock. They now have their feet in the water. Well, Peter’s feet are in the water. Morgan’s don’t quite touch, but she doesn’t seem to really mind because she’s laughing while Peter kicks, splashing them both.

“Okay, done. I’ll do whatever I have to do to win him over. He’s important to you and May, he’s important to me. Also, he’s a good kid, and I kind of like him.”

Tony looks back at him. “ _Good_ kid? You _kind of_ like him? Hap, he’s amazing. Any other kid would be setting your car on fire right now.”

Happy’s jaw drops. “No they wouldn’t!”

“If I were Peter, I might set your car on fire,” Tony says. “Well, I would use it in an experiment, and it would probably end up exploding, but that’s basically the same thing. You should count yourself lucky that it’s Peter you have to win over. Kid has a heart of gold.”

Happy gets up, frowning down at Tony. “You’re awful,” he says. “I’m glad you’re alive, but you’re really awful.”

Tony just grins at him. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I’m going to go help Rhodey with something. You can go back to watching your adorable children in peace.”

“Thanks!” Tony calls after him.

~*~

After supper, Peter is helping Pepper clean up the kitchen. It reminds him of being at home, and he finds it relaxing, but then he remembers that home won’t really be home in a very short period of time. Pretty soon, he and his aunt will be moving in with Happy, and all the memories they made together with his Uncle Ben will be a step further away, half lost in a space that he can no longer claim as his own.

“Are you doing okay?” Pepper asks when Peter opens the cabinet to put the plates away. “You’re really quiet tonight.”

It’s just the two of them in the kitchen, but he doesn’t want to go into everything because it will probably take forever, and to be honest, he’s not really in the mood. It would be much easier to talk to Mr Stark because he’s already told him most everything. But he has to give her something, so he takes in a breath and prepares himself. “Yeah,” he says. “I’m okay. I’m just… worried about Mr Stark. And then all this stuff with my aunt was just sprung on me. I kinda want things to be peaceful, you know? Like I need to stop and breathe or something.”

She puts her hand on his back and rubs the spot between his shoulder blades. Her touch feels like a mom’s, and he relaxes.

“You know,” she says. “Everyone loves you a lot. And they just want what’s best for you.”

Peter sighs. “That’s what May says.”

“Well, she’s right,” Pepper says, closing the cabinet and then leaning back against the counter to look at him. “But I know change is hard. And doubly hard for you because you just got back from space, and it feels like everything has changed while you’ve been gone.”

“Yes!” he says, thankful that she understands. 

“Which is probably why they didn’t want to tell you yet,” she adds on.

His expression falls. She’s right, of course. That’s clearly the reason why Aunt May didn’t tell him. She even said so herself. He just didn’t understand it very well until Pepper pointed it out to him. “It sucks,” is all he can say. “I want things to go back to how they were before… but so much time has passed. And the longer I’m back, the more I realize that it can’t. It just… sucks.”

Happy clears his throat from the doorway, and both Pepper and Peter look up at him. “Um,” Happy says, knocking softly on the door frame while he looks directly at Peter. “Can we talk for a few minutes?”

Peter looks to Pepper who is looking at him with bright eyes and smiling while she gives him a nod. Clearly, she wants him to reply with a yes. “I guess,” he says, looking away from them both. He sets the dish cloth on the counter, and then to his horror, Pepper pats his shoulder and then walks past Happy and out of the kitchen.

Happy pulls a chair out from the kitchen table and sits down. “Come on, Peter. We have to talk. Please?”

Peter heaves a sigh and then walks over to the table, sitting down not across from Happy, but one seat down. 

“Why don’t you tell me how you feel about this whole thing,” Happy says. “Be honest. You won’t hurt my feelings.”

Peter folds his arms over his chest and looks away from him. He knows he’ll have to talk about it eventually with Happy, but he really doesn’t want to do it now. Couldn’t it wait until their drive back to Queens because clearly he wasn’t getting out of that no matter how much he begged? “I want to stay here,” he says. “You and May can move in together. I don’t care. I just wish she’d let me stay here with Mr Stark.”

“You mean everything to May,” Happy says when it’s clear that Peter’s done. “She wants you to be there with us. At least until you’re off to college.”

Peter thinks that if he’s going to college, it’ll be when he knows Mr Stark is safe, but he doesn’t want to talk about that now. It’s feels like too far in the future to even really consider, anyway. “I don’t need a dad,” he says instead, still not raising his eyes.

“Clearly,” Happy replies. “You already have one. I’m not trying to be your dad. I don’t get to make any decisions when it comes to you.”

“Good,” Peter says, finally letting his eyes raise to meet Happy’s. “That’s fine with me.”

“So at least we agree on something.” Happy wipes the sweat from his brow and then lets his shoulders sag a little. “Just try to understand a little. Your aunt was so alone without you for those five years. You can’t really blame her. And then Tony was busy with his own family so I didn’t have all that much to do…”

“I don’t want to hear your love story,” Peter says, trying not to gag. If he has to listen to Happy say one more word about how he romanced May, he’s going to puke. To him it feels like his Uncle Ben died way more recently than he actually did. He knows that May was lonely. He gets that. But he’s still a teenager who’s upset about all the change and upheaval in his life, and this is really, really hard for him. “I get it, okay? I just... “ He looks down at his hands in his lap. “I just want things to go back to how they were. Everything was better before that stupid battle and the dumb trip to space.”

“I know,” Happy says, looking extremely uncomfortable from across the table. “It really, really blows. But things are going to get easier. It was hard for everyone left behind at first too, but it did get easier as time went on. We learned to make do with what we had and the people that were left. It was really awful at times, but we made it through. And then you all came back, and Tony almost died… but we won the war, and it was amazing. I know it’s hard to adjust, but it will get easier.”

Peter sniffs and picks at a piece of dry skin by his thumbnail to try and distract himself and keep his tears from falling. He’s so sick of crying. Once he knew Mr Stark was okay, he thought he was done crying for a while, but clearly not. It’s really stupid. He doesn’t know why change is so hard and something as simple as moving to Happy’s apartment is throwing him for a loop. It’s not even going to be that different. His aunt even said he gets his own bathroom, which is actually an improvement. He doesn’t hate Happy. He actually likes him. He’s always been one hundred percent loyal to Mr Stark, so that definitely counts for something. Peter trusts him because Mr Stark trusts him. And Happy’s probably right. Things will probably be okay. He just wishes he didn’t have to work through it. It’s so much better when things are automatically easy.

“Hey,” Happy says, leaning forward and whispering to Peter. “Your aunt gave me a bargaining tool. She said I could let you stay an extra two days if it helped me win you over. I’ll just give them to you, but you can’t tell her we didn’t bargain. Deal?”

Peter looks up at his earnest eyes and blinks at him, his tears disappearing. “Did she really? You wouldn’t make that up, would you?”

“Swear it,” Happy says, leaning back with a smile. 

Peter can’t help but smile back. Two days isn’t enough, but it’s two more days he can spend with Mr Stark and make sure that he’s okay, so there’s no way in hell he’s going to turn them down. “Okay. I’ll take the two days. But you’re still bargaining, so there’s really no point in keeping that a secret. I’m not a little kid like Morgan. I know bargaining when I see it. Giving me the two days is in effect winning me over.”

Happy lights up. “So it worked?”

Peter holds up his hand, making a tiny space between his thumb and index finger. “Maybe a very small amount,” he admits.


	10. Heart Starts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr Stark reaches over and rubs his shoulder. “It’s okay, Pete. I’m fine. This no arm thing? I’m okay with it now. You built me a badass arm to replace it. We’ll just have to wait a little longer to use it. And it’s okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, my life has been pretty busy this summer, but I did manage to finish another chapter, so here you go... I have chapter 10 for you! I'm probably going to work on a short story for the Iron Dad bingo next, so if this takes a little longer to come out with the next chapter, that's why. Please stay tuned!!
> 
> And again, I love you all! Thank you for reading, and giving kudos and comments! You're the best! <3

Chapter 10 - Heart Starts

As the week goes on, Peter becomes more and more comfortable with his time being at the lake house with Mr Stark and his family. He feels included, like he’s part of the family himself. And like May and Mr Stark would say, he is, so of course he should feel that way. It just still feels weird if he stops and thinks about it.

They are almost done with the arm by Friday night. Since Mr Stark’s burns are still healing, the nano tech can’t touch his skin or it would possibly hinder his healing process, so instead, he and Peter make a vest with tiny conductors around his shoulder, not only giving the arm a place to connect, but also to read Mr Stark’s nerve impulses so that he can move the arm at his will. It’s the first time Peter uses a needle and thread to put anything together, but Mr Stark says if he wants to be an engineer, he has to learn how to make all sorts of things, so he doesn’t complain. 

The vest looks a little like under armor when Peter zips it onto Mr Stark’s chest. He still looks weird without his arm, but Peter is getting more used to it. Plus, he is so excited to see the arm in action and working, that he shoves that thought aside.

It’s late Friday night, and they probably should have gone to bed an hour ago, but they were so close to doing the first test run, that both of them just pushed through any tiredness they may have had. Mr Stark is adjusting the programing and has his left hand poised in the air, ready to tap the command on the holographic screen in front of them. 

“Ready, Pete?” he asks, smiling at him. “Actually, you do the honors. You did most of the work.”

Peter doesn’t move from where he’s standing beside the desk. “No, I think you should, Mr Stark. It’s your arm, after all.”

“No, no. I insist.” Mr Stark lowers his hand and grabs Peter’s shirt, pulling him closer. “Come on.”

Peter looks up at him with a smile. “Okay, fine. I’ll do it. Are you ready?”

“To have my arm back? I was ready yesterday, kid. Go on!”

Peter grabs onto Mr Stark’s left arm to steady him just in case something goes wrong and then reaches forward to signal the command. The second Peter’s finger touches the screen, the nanobot arm on the table springs into action, traveling up to the tiny conductors on the vest, and disappearing into them.

“Whoa,” Peter says, staring at them. “They’re… gone.”

“Not gone,” Mr Stark says, looking down at his shoulder. “It works just like your iron spider helmet, only instead of being housed in the suit, they’re housed in these conductors.”

“I know, you told me. Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Are you going to make it work?”

Mr Stark grins and then in the next second, his golden nanobot arm is coming to life. At first, it seems a little stiff as the elbow bends and then the fingers flex, but then it moves naturally as it comes to rest at Mr Stark’s side. He looks at Peter, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “Thanks, Pete. This is amazing.” He holds out both arms. “Now get in here.”

Peter doesn’t waste a moment and falls into Mr Stark’s arms. He almost knocks him over, but they hold each other up somehow.

“It’s okay,” Mr Stark says, holding him with his real arm, and then gently patting his back with the nanobot hand. “I’m getting stronger. Kendra said so just today. I’m supposed to walk more. Maybe we can go on short walks on the property?”

Peter’s eyes are burning, and he has a lump in his throat, but he tries his best not to cry. This is a happy moment, and he doesn’t need to ruin it with stupid tears. “Yeah,” he says, because that’s all he can trust himself to say. All his work on that arm is definitely worth just this one hug. He would do it a million times over just for this hug.

“You’re okay,” Mr Stark says, rubbing his back. “You did so well, buddy. I’m so proud of you. One day soon, you’re going to make all sorts of cool things for SI. I can’t wait to see them all. Hopefully by then I won’t have to hide anymore, and then I’m going to brag about you to everyone.”

Peter sniffs. “We can build stuff together,” he says. “I’m gonna brag about you, too.”

“Okay,” Mr Stark agrees. “But don’t let that stop you from working on your own stuff.”

“You can be there to answer any questions I might have,” Peter says. 

Mr Stark chuckles and pulls away, a hand on each of Peter’s shoulders. “Of course I will. Hey, let’s go back in the house and show everyone what we’ve been up to. I want to start bragging right away.”

Peter laughs and helps him back up the pathway and towards the house. Mr Stark is right, he’s stronger than when Peter first came, though he still needs a little support. It looks like all his physical therapy--and all his complaining about the physical therapy--is paying off. It makes Peter feel slightly better about when he has to leave him in exactly nine days. Now that he’s stronger and has his new arm, if something does go wrong, he has a better chance of protecting himself. But to be honest, Peter still wants to either stay or take Mr Stark with him when he leaves. 

“What is this?” Pepper cries and almost drops the glass she’s holding when Peter and Mr Stark walk into the kitchen. “Are you done with it already?” She sets her glass down and rushes over to her husband, hesitatingly touching the arm and looking up at him with shining eyes.

“It’s still a little sensitive because my skin is healing from the burns,” Mr Stark says, smiling at her while he turns his palm over so she can see the other side. “We made this harness, see? Well, actually, Pete made the harness. He’s multi-talented. Anyway, it’s pulling on me a little, so I probably wouldn’t want to lift anything heavy yet. But the point is, it works. Really well, actually.”

Peter still has his arm around him, giving him support. “You didn’t tell me it was hurting you.”

“It doesn’t,” Mr Stark says, looking at him. “It’s just irritating the burns a little. In a few weeks that won’t even be a problem. Yesterday, the doctor said they’re healing up really well. Don’t worry, so much, Pete. I’m just fine.”

Pepper puts her hand on Peter’s arm. “Show me how you take it off,” she asks Mr Stark. “Then we can check your burns to make sure they’re not too irritated. If they are, I think you should wait a while before you wear this.”

“It’s fine, I promise.” Mr Stark sounds a little defiant, but he makes the arm retract back into the vest anyway. 

Pepper walks around the back of him. “Will you help me get this off, Peter?”

“Yeah, sure,” Peter says, but he’s feeling concerned. He’s going to feel awful if Mr Stark’s burns are red and irritated. Maybe he should have tried to tell him they should wait a week to test it. But then again, he knows that they were both so excited to try it out, that never would have happened. He helps Pepper unzip the vest and then slide it off of Mr Stark. 

Pepper lifts Mr Stark’s t-shirt so she can see what the burns look like. She clearly knows what she’s looking for, but to be honest, this is the first time Peter has seen the burns. Mr Stark has kept them hidden from him for the most part. Obviously, he can’t hide the ones on his face and neck, but hasn’t let Peter see the ones under his shirt. And Peter hasn’t asked, either.

Now, however, Peter can see them very well. They look just like the ones on his neck and face, except Peter finds himself shocked at how much he’s disturbed by seeing Mr Stark’s shoulder with no arm. It’s covered in ugly burns except where it’s obvious that skin grafts have been placed to help cover the stump. He wants to tell Pepper to lower the shirt so he doesn’t have to look anymore, but she does it anyway without being asked.

“Yeah, they’re irritated,” she says, gently smoothing the shirt down. “I think you should hold off on wearing it until they’re healed a little more.”

Mr Stark sighs and gestures to a chair at the kitchen table, so Peter helps him there so he can sit down. “Fine, I’ll wait. Thanks for ruining all the fun.”

She leans down to kiss the side of his face. “I think you mean to thank me for making sure your recovery goes smoothly.” She kisses him again. “And you’re welcome. You can put it on later and show your daughter. As long as you don’t pick her up with it. Then we’ll try again next week, okay?”

“Yes, Dr Pepper,” Mr Stark says.

“Ha ha, very funny.” she says, moving to grab her glass from the kitchen counter. “I’m going to bed. Don’t stay up too late, okay? Happy’s leaving in the morning so you’ll want to say goodbye to him.”

“We won’t! Goodnight, dear!” Mr Stark calls after her. When they hear her footsteps on the stairs, he turns to Peter. “I’m really sorry you had to see that. Are you okay?”

Peter plops down in the chair beside him. “It’s really not that bad,” he says, but doesn’t look at Mr Stark. “I knew your arm was gone. It was just that seeing it in real life made it--real. A-and, I just wish you didn’t have to go through any of this. I want things to be normal again.”

Mr Stark reaches over and rubs his shoulder. “It’s okay, Pete. I’m fine. This no arm thing? I’m okay with it now. You built me a badass arm to replace it. We’ll just have to wait a little longer to use it. And it’s okay.”

Peter wipes at his face. “I don’t know why it bothered me so much. I knew what it must look like.”

“I didn’t want you to see it. I should have told Pepper that. Or I should have stopped her. I haven’t shown Morgan, either. It’s a little disturbing to see your dad with no arm even if it’s mostly healed up. Which it is, by the way. The skin is just sensitive right now. It’ll get better with time. So please don’t sit up all night worrying about me, okay?”

Peter doesn’t know how to tell Mr Stark that in the last week, he’s done a lot of sitting up and worrying, and he doesn’t anticipate that changing anytime soon, so he keeps his mouth closed.

“Okay?” Mr Stark asks again.

Peter nods. “I’ll try.”

“Good. That’s all I can ask.” His smile is sad when he meets Peter’s eyes. “Let’s get ready for bed and watch a movie. Meet me in the living room in fifteen minutes? Or maybe more for me. I’m kind of slow.”

Peter jumps up and makes a move toward his bedroom. He’s so happy that Mr Stark suggested that because now he can try to clear a few bad thoughts from his mind before he attempts to sleep.

“Wait!” Mr stark says, holding out his hand toward Peter. “Don’t just leave me here, Pete! Come on and help me to my room. I’m a little better, but it’s been a long day, and my body is done.”

Peter dashes back to him, taking his hand and pulling him up from his seat. “The offer to carry you still stands,” he says.

“Zip it, Parker.”

~*~

Peter wakes up feeling like his heart is beating out of his chest. He remembers a dream where he and Mr Stark are being chased, and Mr Stark couldn’t keep up so Peter was pulling him along. It got worse from there on out, and he shakes his head to try and rid himself of the memory. 

Instead of lying alone on a cold forest floor, like he had been in the nightmare, he’s actually cozy on Mr Stark’s couch, surrounded by blankets and sitting beside Mr Stark, who’s still fast asleep, his head tilted back on the back of the couch. Peter snuggles back into his side and tries to calm his breathing. The TV screen is blue. Peter doesn’t know how long ago the movie ended, but it feels very late, so he moves to reach for the remote to turn it off.

Mr Stark takes in a deep breath and his eyes blink open. “What time is it? We should get into bed.”

Peter begins to panic because he didn’t actually want to go to bed. Especially when his nightmare is so fresh. He’d rather stay on the couch with Mr Stark. “Can’t we watch another movie? Please?”

“Kid, it’s gotta be like three AM. Time to get your spider butt to bed. Besides, Morgan wakes up early and then you’ll regret being on the couch.”

Peter is pretty sure he won’t, but he bites his lip and keeps his thoughts to himself. 

Mr Stark seems to wake up a little more and studies Peter’s face, reaching over to brush a curl from his forehead. “Are you okay? No fever?” He presses his hand to the side of Peter’s face. “Shit, if you have a fever, we don’t have any medicine that your super metabolism isn’t going to blow right through.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t think I can get that kind of sick.” He flexes an arm. “My immune system is really strong.”

Mr Stark pats his cheek. “Better knock on some wood. If you’re okay, let’s get you to bed. My back is killing me.”

Peter smiles but knocks on the coffee table anyway. He’s not really superstitious, but it’s better to be safe than sorry, right? “Let’s get you to bed, Mr Stark. I’m fine.” But he’s not really fine. He doesn’t want to tell Mr Stark about his nightmare though, because it was terrifying, and he would do anything in his power to avoid reliving that, so he goes along with him. First, he helps Mr Stark to his room. Then he gets a quick hug and a pat on the back before he’s sent to his own room.

Alone. In the dark.

But it’s okay, he tells himself.

The first thing he does when he gets to his room is turn on the lights. Sleep is overrated. Right?

He pulls out one of the books that Happy brought him earlier in the week and sits up on his bed while he attempts to read it. It’s actually not bad. It’s about two best friends navigating a music festival and all the weird and interesting people they meet. He’s reading about how they wake up to their tent flooding and music blaring in the middle of the night when there’s a knock on his door, and he jumps, lowering his book just as the door slowly opens.

Mr Stark is standing there with a disapproving look on his face. “Peter. It’s six AM. Why are you still awake?”

He holds up his book. “Reading. This book is pretty good.”

A little of the disapprovement fades. Instead of giving him a lecture, Mr Stark, enters the room and gently closes the door behind him. It’s not too far from the door to Peter’s bed, but Peter jumps up to help him anyway. “I got it, I got it,” Mr Stark says, but doesn’t push him away. “Okay,” he says, once they’re both settled on the edge of the bed. “Will you please tell me why you’re reading at six in the morning? That is not a normal thing for a teenager to do, by the way. I know because I was once a teenager myself. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s one hundred percent true.”

Peter smiles at him. “Sure. I believe it. Just not sure about the normal part.”

Mr Stark looks at him in mock offense. “How dare you.” Then he breaks into a smile. “Okay, you’re probably right. I wasn’t normal. But I know that this isn’t, either. So what gives, Pete? You had a busy day. I know you’re tired. Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Peter looks away at the question. He wishes the lights were off because he doesn’t want Mr Stark reading his face, like he knows he’s probably doing right at that very second.

“Something’s wrong,” Mr Stark says gently. “I need you to tell me what it is.”

Peter takes in a shaky breath. “I had this weird dream earlier. And then when you asked me if I was okay, I said I was fine. That was a lie.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Mr Stark asks. “We could have watched another movie in my room if you were really that upset. That way Morgan wouldn’t wake us up when she comes barreling through the house at six thirty. Which is in thirty minutes from now, by the way. We might want to lock the door.”

Peter gives a sad laugh. Morgan running into his room and jumping on his bed wouldn’t be so bad. “I just don’t want to sleep right now,” he says, looking down at his toes before pulling his legs up onto the bed. “I will tonight, I promise.”

“What if I stay here?” Mr Stark asks, patting the bed. “You can tell me about the dream. Only if you want to,” he adds when he sees Peter’s face. “And then we can get a few more hours before we have to be up to say goodbye to Happy.”

Peter thinks about it. The book is pretty good and at this point, he wouldn’t mind reading more of it, but he’s actually really tired and would love to sleep--as long as that meant that the nightmare would stay at bay.

Mr Stark reaches over and turns on the bedside lamp. “My tablet doesn’t have control over the lights in this room. Go run and turn off the light. We’ll keep this small one on.”

Peter jumps off the bed to turn off the light and then hurries back. The bed in his room is a queen sized bed, so there’s plenty of room, but he gets in and scoots closer to Mr Stark until their shoulders touch anyway. “I want to make it clear that I don’t need you to stay here,” he says once they have the blankets pulled up to their necks. “I was fine before. I wasn’t sleeping, but I was fine. I would have been okay.”

“I know, Pete.” Mr Stark’s voice is sleepy. “But I want you to sleep. You can tell me about the dream if you want.”

“I don’t want to say it out loud,” Peter mutters, turning on his side a little so he can look at him. “It was just bad. Really bad. I want to forget it happened. That’s why I was trying to read. The book was actually pretty good. It was about a music festival.”

“Oh, yeah?” Mr Stark’s eyes are closed, but he has a little smile on his face. “I’ve been to a few of those in my day. Kind of wild and crazy. You’re not allowed to go.”

Peter blinks a few times before his eyes drag themselves closed. “And your parents let you go?”

“I didn’t exactly ask them. I was sixteen or seventeen and staying at the dorms at MIT. Rhodey took me. He was the responsible adult back then. It was kind of a disaster. But fun at the same time. I wouldn’t exaclty recommend it. Like I said, you’re not allowed.”

“What if I’m an adult? Then am I allowed?”

“No. You’re never allowed. Bad people lurk around those things.”

“I’m actually really good at dealing with bad people. I’ll web them up.” Peter smiles against his pillow and cracks open an eye to see Mr Stark smiling back at him.

“Spider-Man isn’t allowed to go to any music festivals either,” Mr Stark says, chuckling lightly. “You can read about them in your book as much as you want though. You’re a smart kid. You make way better decisions than I did when I was your age. I’m so proud of you.”

“And I’m proud of you,” Peter says. “You can walk all by yourself without falling over. It’s impressive. Did you feel proud when Morgan learned to walk?”

Mr Stark looks at him in mock offense. “Are you comparing me to a toddler? Geez, being a dad is hard. Everywhere I turn, someone’s roasting me.”

“Pretty sure your physical therapy is much harder than learning to walk for the first time,” Peter says, smiling gently. “I was being mostly serious.”

“Good. I was a little worried,” Mr Stark says, but winks at him to let him know he wasn’t actually worried. “Now, close your eyes. Unless you want the light off?”

“It can stay on,” Peter says right away. He pulls up the blankets and closes his eyes. If he does have another nightmare, the light being on will definitely help orient him when he wakes up, so no, he doesn’t want to turn it off. “Good night, Mr Stark. Thanks for checking on me.”

“No problem, buddy. Good night.”

Peter feels Mr Stark’s hand brushing a lock of hair from his forehead before he drifts off.


	11. Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy looks away and sighs. It’s clear that he knows he’s not getting out of this one. “You want some coffee? I’ll make you some coffee.”
> 
> “Yeah,” Tony says. “And then tell me what it is you’re keeping from Peter.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 11! I'm ALMOST done with 14, but I'm going to plan on finishing it tonight, so I'm posting this a little bit early ;). I'm going to an actual lake house Tuesday through Thursday, and I plan on getting a lot of writing done there, so hopefully I can have the next chapter up pretty quick! Thanks for all your comments and kudos everyone! I really appreciate it! <3

Chapter 11

An hour after Peter falls asleep, Tony eases himself out of bed and slowly and carefully makes his way back to his room. He wants to talk to Happy a little before Peter gets up, so he changes into his clothes for the day, and then ventures out towards the kitchen to make some coffee.

Happy is standing by the window that overlooks the lake and has his phone to his ear. “No, I didn’t tell him. I thought maybe you would want to.” His back is to the door, and he doesn’t realize he has company.

Tony sits down at the table while he rests his leg. His coffee can wait a few minutes.

“He’s not mad at you, May,” Happy says. “He’ll be fine. Yeah, I know. Do you want me to tell him before I leave? I will if you want me to.”

Tony figures they’re talking about Peter, so he doesn’t feel bad eavesdropping. Besides, it’s his house, and it’s not like he can get around stealthily anyway. It’s Happy’s own fault for not noticing him.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Happy says, sighing. “He’s already going to come kicking and screaming. We don’t need to give him any more reasons to not want to come home. Yep. Got it. Love you. See you soon. Bye.” He disconnects the call and almost jumps out the window when he sees Tony sitting at the table.

“Morning, Hap,” Tony says, grabbing a donut from the box on the table. “Wanna tell me what else you’re keeping from Peter?”

Happy has his hand over his heart while he looks at Tony with half fear and half outrage. “Nothing. He already knows.”

“Didn’t sound like it,” Tony says, his voice muffled by the bite of donut he’s currently chewing on.

Happy hasn’t moved from his spot by the window. “It’s kind of personal.”

Tony sets his donut down. “If it’s about Peter, you don’t get to be personal. It’s my business. I can’t ask May about it, so you have to tell me. Spill it. Now.”

Happy looks away and sighs. It’s clear that he knows he’s not getting out of this one. “You want some coffee? I’ll make you some coffee.”

“Yeah,” Tony says. “And then tell me what it is you’re keeping from Peter.”

Happy walks around the table towards the coffee pot. “I told you. He already knows. May and I are moving in together. May already told him that. He just doesn’t know exactly when. That’s what May was wondering about. She wanted to know if I told him we were already starting to move their things over to my place. When Peter gets home, he’s going to have to pack up his room. We agreed we would wait to tell him because it might upset him more, and she really wants him to come home for a few weeks. She misses him.”

“Hmm.” Tony takes another bite of his donut while he watches Happy scoop some coffee grounds into the filter. On one hand, he doesn’t like that they’re keeping yet another thing from Peter, but he does see May’s point. Of course she misses him. She misses him probably more than Tony had in those five years. After all, Tony had Pepper and Morgan. May was very alone for a very long time. So he’s not about to take Peter away from her. “Okay,” he says. “You’re forgiven. Just be gentle with him. He’s sensitive. He already feels really left out of everything, and he just wants to know what’s going on. That poor kid has been through a lot.”

“I know.” Happy snaps the filter in place and presses the brew button. “Trust me when I say we’re trying our best to not upset him further. May thought we’d have more time to tell him about us. She didn’t know he was going to be here with you. She thought you were dead. And I couldn’t tell her anything, so we were stuck. This all kind of just happened, and we’re trying to pick up the pieces. And don’t worry, he’ll be back here before you know it. So you won’t be missing out either.”

“You couldn’t wait till the end of the summer to move the two of them into your apartment?” Tony asks. Happy’s talking like they’re doing this all for Peter’s sake, but if that were true, wouldn’t they have waited?

Happy groans. “She wouldn’t really like me to discuss this with you. But… if you promise not to say anything—”

“Who would I tell?” Tony interrupts. “I literally do not have a phone. Also, I’m supposed to be dead. The people I can tell anything to is very limited.”

“Okay, fine.” Happy plops down on the seat next to him. “Money has been tight for May. With Peter, well, gone, she’s managed to stay afloat, but now she has all these extra expenses again. Back when half the world was missing, her employer cut her pay. And now that everyone’s back, they still haven’t raised it. She’s struggling. If she moves in with me, this will make it easier for her. But I didn’t tell you that.”

Tony opens his mouth to reply, but receives a glare from Happy, so he shuts it. 

“I already know what you’re going to say,” Happy says. “But dead people can’t donate any money. Besides, everything is fine. It’s just going to be an adjustment for Peter. But he’ll be fine. He’s a strong kid.”

Tony knows he’s a strong kid. He’d have to be strong to get through everything he’s been through and still come out okay on the other end, but that doesn’t mean he wants things to be harder for him. He wants Peter to rest for a while and have a chance to recover. He thinks it would be best if Peter stayed with him and Pepper and Morgan instead of going home to deal with this moving thing, but Tony knows he can’t ask for that. Besides, it might be harder for Peter if he goes home at the end of the summer and has to start school again without getting settled into Happy’s apartment first. 

“It’s really hard being dead,” Tony grumbles and goes back to his donut. “Is the coffee ready yet?”

“Bleagh, coffee,” Morgan says, skipping into the room. “Daddy, did you know that Mommy says that coffee is bad for you? Maybe you shouldn’t drink it anymore. You’ve already been sick for a long time.”

“No, Peanut,” Tony says when Morgan crawls up onto his lap. “Mommy means if you drink too much coffee, it’s bad for you. I can have a little, and it’s okay.”

“Whatever you say,” Happy mumbles, getting up from his seat and moving to the cupboard so he can grab a mug. He fills a cup and then walks over to set it down in front of Tony on the table. “Here’s your coffee. Enjoy. I gotta get going.”

“Uncle Happy, no!” Morgan squeals, jumping down from her dad’s lap and flinging herself at Happy’s legs. “You can stay here. Auntie May can come too. She can sleep in my room. I won’t bother her.”

Happy picks her up and smiles at her. “That would be great, kid, but your aunt May and I have a lot of work to do back in the city. Maybe you can come and see us some time soon. If your parents let you.”

Morgan brightens and then looks to Tony. “Can I? Ooh! Can Petey come, too?”

Tony rubs his temple and then reaches for his coffee cup. “It’s too early in the morning for this. Ask your mother. But first, go wake your brother up, will you? He needs to say goodbye to Happy.”

“Okay!” Morgan agrees as Happy sets her down. She runs off, her little feet pattering on the floor. 

When she’s gone, Tony looks at Happy. “So you’re not going to tell him?”

“No. May will talk to him when he gets back to Queens.” Happy holds his hands up in surrender. “He doesn’t need a reason to be mad at me. So I’m not going to give him one. And May agrees. It’ll make it easier for him to get back to Queens. For him and for me.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Not my place.” Tony takes a sip of his coffee. “I’m not his legal guardian. I’m not his legal anything considering I’m legally dead. Whatever.” 

Happy is sighing heavily when Peter sleepily walks into the room, his arms full of Morgan. “Good morning,” Peter mumbles. “What’s for breakfast? Ooo, donuts? Do we have the kind with the custard filling? Covered in chocolate frosting?”

“Yeah, I saved it for you,” Happy answers, grabbing a plate hidden away on the other side of the fridge and handing it to Peter. “I didn’t want anyone else getting their sticky little fingers all over it. Especially this one, who likes to touch every donut before she picks one.”

Morgan blinks at him. “I don’t do that!”

“Yeah, you do. Just admit it.”

Tony clears his throat. “No one minds her sticky little fingers, Hap. Say goodbye to Peter, and get a move on. This room is too crowded.”

“You’re just cranky,” Happy says. “Drink your coffee, and maybe you’ll feel better.” He turns to Peter and Morgan. “Goodbye, you two. I’ll be back next Saturday to pick you up, Pete.”

Peter blinks at him, waking up a little. “Saturday? You said I could stay till Sunday!” He looks over at Tony. “Mr Stark, that’s not fair! Tell him the deal was that I could stay till Sunday. He promised!”

“Relax,” Tony says, looking between them. “He’s coming on Saturday, but you’re not leaving until Sunday. So take a few breaths. Pour yourself and Morgan some orange juice and then come sit with me and eat donuts.”

“Sorry,” Happy says. “I should have worded that a little better. It just kinda sucks to drive both ways in one day. So I’m going to spend the night.”

Peter looks at him warily. “Okay. I guess that’s fine.”

Happy looks at him for a long, awkward moment and then makes a move to give Peter a hug. Morgan, still in Peter’s arms, leans into it first, and then Peter is just standing there with Happy’s arms loosely around him and Morgan.

Tony grins. He wishes he had a camera right then because the look on Peter’s face is priceless. The whole thing is priceless, really. He wants a photo of this scene, and then he’s going to frame it and blow it up so he can hang it up on the wall. He loves these people so much.

When Happy pulls away, his face is red. “Okay, bye, kid. Bye, Morgan.” He looks at Tony. “You too. Behave yourself.”

Tony’s smile fades as he watches Happy walk out of the room. “Why does everyone keep telling me that?”

~*~

After Peter showers and puts on some clothes, he ventures back out into the living room. Mr Stark had promised they would start some sort of new project today, and he’s excited to hear about it. But when he steps into the living room, he sees Mr Stark sitting on the couch with Pepper besides them. It looks to Peter like he’s interrupted some kind of important conversation because they both become quiet and look up at him at the same time.

Mr Stark beckons him farther into the room. “Come over here, Pete. We have a proposition.”

Peter swallows hard. It kind of reminds him of when May and Ben used to sit him down and talk to him about serious things. Like the one time he was failing PE, and then the time a teacher had caught him giving homework to a bully. It was just easier to hand it over than deal with the consequences, but apparently the school felt like he was part of the cheating. May and Ben had fought for him that time, but it still hadn’t been a pleasant conversation. Mr Stark and Pepper have similar looks on their faces when he sits down across from them.

“Did I do something wrong?” Peter asks in a quiet voice.

“No, no, sweetie.” Pepper shakes her head. “It’s just that Morgan needs some new clothes--she’s growing like a weed--and I was going to take her to the mall. Then I thought maybe you’d like to come with.”

“No offense to your style,” Mr Stark says, looking down at his t-shirt. “But I’m pretty sure all of your clothes have been sitting in storage for five years. They’re probably a little musty. Time for a refresher. What do you say?”

Peter looks down at his own clothes. His t-shirt is a faded maroon that almost looks pink now, and his jeans have strings coming out of the seams. His right knee is even starting to get a hole in it. Mr Stark is right. All of his clothing has been sitting in boxes for five years, but also, it was pretty worn out before then, too. “You don’t have to spend money on me,” he tells them. “I’ll probably grow out of this stuff soon, anyway. Or… hopefully I will.”

“I think you already are,” Mr Stark says. “Your pants are looking kind of short. Let Pepper get you some new clothes. In return, you can help wrangle Morgan. Trust me, it’s a lot of work. She runs off a lot and loves talking to strangers. She definitely doesn’t get that from me.”

Pepper shoots him a look and then smiles warmly before turning her gaze on Peter. “Please, Peter? It would be a big help.”

Peter looks between them and swallows hard. He doesn’t know what May would think. It’s kind of like charity, but then again, maybe it’s not. If Mr Stark thinks of him as a son, then maybe it’s okay to let him and Pepper buy him clothes? And it’s not like he has to buy the whole store. Maybe just a few things. And he can check the prices and make sure things aren’t too expensive. “Okay,” he agrees, tentatively returning Pepper’s smile.

It turns out shopping with Pepper and Morgan is a little different than shopping with May. While both women are definitely on a mission when they shop, Pepper does way less price checking than May ever does. And of course, that makes sense. She has a lot more money to spend. Though Peter notices that her choices tend to be pretty reasonable, considering she’s married to a billionaire.

They find Morgan some things first. Peter does a lot of waiting outside the fitting room watching Pepper’s large purse, which he notices is mostly filled with things for Morgan. He remembers when May would keep snacks in her purse for him, and it makes him smile. He can hear her arguing with Morgan about colors and styles for a while, but finally, they emerge out of the fitting room with some winners. 

“That wasn’t too bad,” Peter says when Morgan climbs up onto his lap. 

Pepper just laughs. “You weren’t the one fighting a four year old to put on clothes when she’d rather play. But it was successful!” She grabs her purse from beside Peter, and then makes a move to carry everything toward the register. 

Peter holds onto Morgan and hefts her up into his arms so he can follow behind her. Right now they’re at a little kid clothing store at a mall about forty-five minutes from the lake house. He figures next she’ll bring him to pick out some things for himself, and he’s kind of dreading it. So far, he’s only done this with May, and that’s bad enough. Not only does he hate clothes shopping, but he’s not Pepper’s kid, and she shouldn’t have to buy him anything. It’s a little awkward. 

He tries not to pay attention when Pepper’s purchases for Morgan are rung up at the register, but with his enhanced hearing, he can’t help but hear it. She somehow spent over two hundred dollars on items that Morgan will probably grow out of in a few months. Peter’s not sure anyone has ever spent that much on him, and he feels really out of place.

“Come on, kids,” Pepper says when she’s done and Peter hasn’t moved from where he’s standing a few feet away, still holding onto Morgan. “Are you ready for Peter’s turn, Morgan? Or do you need a snack? We can stop for lunch when we’re done.”

“Yeah! Petey’s turn!” Morgan says, holding tightly around his neck while she grins. “As long as my turn is over! Can I have a snack while he tries on clothes?”

“Yes, but let’s get a move on!” Pepper says, smiling back at them while they exit the store.

Peter would like a snack too because he’s starving, but he can probably wait until after trying on clothes. As long as that goes smoothly. He’s a little nervous they might have a fight over prices. Or at least he feels like he might want to have a fight over prices, but there’s no way he would draw attention to themselves at the mall, so he’ll probably not say much about it.

Peter is thinking so hard about prices and trying not to panic over the numbers he’ll undoubtedly see, he barely notices that Pepper has led them into another store. He blinks and looks around when she stops by the jeans. The store is nothing like the ones he goes to with May. He usually gets his jeans at discount department stores. Except for a few special t-shirts that he’s gotten for Christmas or birthdays or sometimes saved up for himself, all his clothes would be considered inexpensive. And he’s okay with that, he really is. 

But wow. He’s looking around now, feeling like he’s been missing out at least a little bit when Pepper takes Morgan from his arms. 

“Why don’t you pick out some to try on,” Pepper says, smiling at him. “You can come out and show us if you want, but I think you’re old enough for me to trust when you say they fit you. Don’t you think?”

Peter blushes and nods. “Yeah, probably.” There is nothing like Pepper Potts wanting to make sure your clothes fit you. It positively makes him feel like he’s Morgan’s age. So he quickly turns away to grab several pairs of jeans in different styles and then a few t-shirts that appeal to him. Once he has a good sized armful of clothes, he dashes to the fitting room, Morgan close on his heels. 

“Morgan!” Pepper grabs her right before she’s about to run into the men’s side of the fitting rooms. “This is where boys change. You have to wait out here with Mommy.”

“Aww,” Morgan says, her face sad and disappointed when Peter looks back at her right before he shuts himself into a stall. 

He goes to tackle the pile of clothes he has to try on. He doesn’t plan on coming out to show Pepper and Morgan any of them. His goal is to check the price tags, try them on as quickly as possible, and then make a few selections. 

He guesses it takes longer than he planned on, because Pepper calls out, asking how he’s doing. 

“Fine! Almost done!” he yells back. 

“So, I know you said you didn’t have to show us anything, but Morgan insists. Do you mind coming out and showing her an outfit?”

Outfit? She totally sounds like May, which actually makes him a little more comfortable. A little. He’s still standing in expensive jeans and a blue graphic t-shirt when he steps out to model them for Pepper and Morgan. When they see him in his new clothes, they both grin and coo over him. Morgan is totally copying Pepper, and it would be kind of cute if it wasn’t him they were cooing at. 

His face turns red and he spins back around. “Almost done!” he says again, locking himself back in the stall. He’s shucking off the last pair of pants and reaching for the ones he came with when he hears a tap on his wall.

“Dude. What are you doing here with Pepper Potts?” a quiet voice says from the fitting room next to his. The voice sounds like a kid about his age, but Peter can’t be sure without seeing him.

He freezes. The last thing he wants is the world to know that Pepper is buying him clothes, so he clears his throat and says, “Um, shopping? Gotta go.” He quickly pulls on the rest of his clothes and stuffs his feet into his shoes before he snatches up his choices and bolting out of the fitting room. 

“Are you okay?” Pepper asks from a bench outside the fitting room when he emerges. Morgan is sitting on her lap eating goldfish crackers. 

“I’m fine,” Peter assures her.

“Show me what you picked out,” she says, smiling and setting Morgan down so she can stand up and help him go through his items. She takes two pairs of jeans from him, and then three t-shirts, holding them up and looking at them each. “Is that all?”

“Yep, I’m good,” Peter says, grinning, hoping she’ll just agree and they can leave. Whoever it was in the fitting room might be coming out soon, and he definitely doesn’t need some news story about him shopping with Pepper and Morgan.

“Well, alright. I guess this is enough.” She looks down at Morgan. “What do you say? Ready for lunch?”

“McDonalds!” Morgan cries.

Pepper grimaces and begins to lead the way to the checkout. “We’ll see.”

Peter almost dies right there when all his purchases ring up to be two hundred and fifty some dollars. He had been planning on looking more carefully at the prices, but the kid in the stall next to him had kind of scared him off before he had a chance to do that. So when he accepts the bag from Pepper, he thinks about maybe hanging up his new clothes in his closet and never wearing them. He’s too afraid to ruin such expensive clothes. “Thanks, Miss Potts,” he mutters.

“Peter, you can call me Pepper.” She turns either way to make sure no one is standing too close to overhear and then lowers her voice, “I know Tony lets you call him Mr Stark, but I’m not technically Miss anything anymore. So please, call me Pepper.”

“Okay,” he says, wrapping his fingers around Morgan’s hand when she slides her hand into his and then pulls hard.

“Come on! I need McDonalds.”

“Need, huh?” Pepper says, following after them. “That’s a strange thing to need. Remind me to talk to you later about needs and wants.”

They end up in the food court at the mall because thankfully, there’s a McDonalds there. Morgan is happily eating her cheeseburger happy meal while Peter inhales a double quarter pounder with cheese. Pepper is sipping at a diet coke and stealing some of Morgan’s fries when she wipes her hands on a napkin and clears her throat.

“I’m going to check out that leather store across the hall,” she says to Peter. “My briefcase is wearing out and it’s probably time to get a new one. Is it okay if you watch Morgan for a few minutes? I’ll be quick.”

“Yeah, of course,” Peter replies and then grabs for more fries. He hasn’t had McDonalds in a long time, and he’s forgotten how good their fries are. “We’ll be fine here. Right, Morgan?”

Morgan nods and dips a french fry in her ketchup pile. 

Pepper pats Morgan on the head after she gets up from the table and then disappears into the food court crowd. Not long after that, a kid approaches the table. Peter has a bad feeling but he doesn’t know why. The kid looks innocent enough. He’s maybe a year younger than Peter. His hair is cut in a crew cut, and he’s dressed just like all the mannequins in the store they were just shopping at for Peter’s clothes.

“So,” the kid says, taking another step closer. “Is Pepper Potts your mom or something?”

“She’s _my_ mom!” Morgan answers, looking up at him with big brown eyes.

“Yeah, I figured.” The kid glances down at her for a brief moment and then looks back to Peter. “But why are _you_ out with her? Who are you, anyway?”

“He’s my brother,” Morgan says before Peter has a chance to reply. “Not that it’s any of your business. Who are _you_?”

The kid is looking at Morgan like she’s got two heads. “I’m not talking to you.”

Morgan doesn’t reply, but just sits there, fuming. She reminds Peter so much of Mr Stark, it’s scary, but he doesn’t have time to dwell on that so he clears his throat. He recognizes the voice as the one from the fitting room earlier. “She’s right, you know. It’s none of your business. We’re trying to eat here, so would you mind?” He makes a hand motion so the kid will scram.

Instead, he takes another step closer, stepping up so that he’s practically between Peter and Morgan at the table. “Answer my question, and I’ll leave. Who are you?”

Peter’s senses are screaming at him. He wonders if the kid has a knife in his pocket or something. Maybe this kid is not really some kid shopping with his mom. Maybe he was stealing items in the dressing room. Maybe he knows that Peter is Spider-man. Or maybe he’s disguising himself as a teenager so he won’t look so suspicious when he’s looking for the stones. Maybe he’s not a human at all. Maybe he’s after Mr Stark. 

Peter stands up so quickly that his chair falls over. The mall is so loud that not many people notice, but Peter doesn’t care. He’s now in a stance that he can at least protect himself and Morgan from this person or being. Or whoever he is. “My name is Peter,” he says. “And I’m just a family friend. But if you don’t leave, I’m going to have to call some other friends. Got it?”

The kid just blinks at him, a little stunned. “Whoa, I just think she’s hot, that’s all. No need to get all weird.”

Peter’s shoulders fall, and he tries to breathe normally again. But that’s when he realizes the seat at the table that Morgan had previously been sitting in is now empty. All that’s left are the remnants of her happy meal. He looks around frantically. “Where is she?” he says, pushing the kid out of the way. “Did you see where she went?”

He looks around, shrugging. “I don’t know. My back was to her.”

Peter glares at him. “How could you do that? I was supposed to be watching her!” 

The kid just stares at him, dumbfounded, so Peter takes in a breath and looks around him again. “Morgan!” he yells. “ _Morgan_!”

The mall is still bustling, and almost no one in the food court turns to look at him. What’s worse is that Morgan is nowhere in sight.


	12. Fall on Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm behind, but I'm posting this chapter because I couldn't leave you with the cliffhanger for so long! That means it'll probably be 2 weeks (about) until I have the next chapter ready. I do have a short story that'll be ready sooner, and I'm also going to post the next chapter of my other long iron dad fic in a few minutes :) 
> 
> Thank you again for all your comments and kudos! <3

“Morgan!” Peter is at near breaking point, but he can’t stop looking for Morgan. She has to be here somewhere. He saw her just a few minutes ago. How far could she have gotten? He’s asking a guy at the table next to theirs if he’s seen a little girl with dark brown hair when Pepper grabs his arm. 

“Peter, what is wrong?”

It takes everything in him to not break down. “I can’t find Morgan!” he cries. 

She stares at him with panic in her eyes for a few seconds and then her grip tightens on his arm. “Don’t panic. When did you last see her?”

“Just a second ago! There was this dumb kid that came up to us, and he was asking me all these questions. He stood in front of her, and then when he moved she was gone. I literally took my eyes off of her for like two seconds, I swear! I’m so sorry, Miss Potts.”

Pepper pulls him into her arms and pats his back. “Don’t worry. We’ll find her.” She takes out her phone from her purse, searching for a number on her phone and then putting it to her ear. “Hi, yes. I need security in the food court right away. My child slipped away from me, and I can’t find her.”

Tears are pricking at Peter’s eyes, but he hides them in Pepper’s shoulder while he sniffs and tries to get control over them. “It’s my fault,” he manages to croak out. “I shouldn’t have let that kid distract me.”

“Shh,” Pepper hushes and pats his back. “It’s just been a few minutes. Please come right away,” she says into the phone. “My name is Pepper Potts, and I’m standing in front of the McDonalds. I’ll be waiting for you. Please hurry.” When she hangs up the phone, she puts both arms around Peter. “Hey, stop it. It’s not your fault. We’ll find her. I’ve handled problems way worse than this a million times over. She probably just went to ask someone for extra french fries or something. We’ll find her. Don’t worry.”

He wipes at a tear that slid onto his cheek unauthorized and then pushes away from her. “I should be looking for her. Let me think about where she would go.” He looks around, a little frantically and tries to think about what was going on at the exact moment that she went missing. That dumb kid was arguing with them about such stupid things, and then he stepped closer. Maybe Morgan went to find help for Peter? Where would she go first?

He sucks in his breath when it comes to him. She would have gone to find Pepper. In the leather store. He pulls on her sleeve. “Come on, I think I know where she is!”

“We have to stay here,” Pepper says, grasping his wrist. “Security is coming in just a second. I know you’re afraid, Peter, but we have to stay calm. Plus, if she did wander off, she’ll come back here looking for us.”

“Okay, you stay here,” he says, pulling out of her grasp. “I’m just going to go check out the store you were in. I’ll be right back.”

Her eyes go wide. “Where’s your phone? Do you have it? Tony will kill me if I lose both of you.”

He pats his back pocket while he moves away from her. “Yeah, it’s right here, but I'll be back in a few minutes. I promise.” Without waiting for a reply, he dashes off through the food court, through all the people walking leisurely through the mall, and into the leather store, breathing heavily.

There aren’t that many people in the store, and the woman at the register looks up at him right away. “Hi, can I help you find any—” She stops talking when she gets a good look at his face. “Are you okay?”

“No,” he says, too scared to worry about appearances. “I lost my sister. Have you seen her?” He holds up his hand to where Morgan’s head comes on him. “She’s about this tall. Dark brown hair, brown eyes, really cute, talks a lot…”

The lady takes a few seconds to look off, trying to think it over. “No, I don’t think so. The last kid I saw in here was maybe an hour ago, and it was a boy with his dad.”

Peter tries his best not to deflate. “Can I look around for her? Maybe she’s hiding?”

“Sure, go ahead. I’ll even help you.”

Together, the two of them look under leather jackets and behind displays with fancy leather wallets and watch bands, but Morgan isn’t anywhere. Peter is about to give up. He wishes Mr Stark were there. He would know what to do. Peter just feels lost and hopeless. He’s saying goodbye to the lady and walking out of the store when two little arms wrap around his legs, so he looks down, and is so relieved to see Morgan that he almost cries right then and there.

“Petey!” Morgan looks up at him, her eyes red and her cheeks stained with tears. “I couldn’t find Mommy! Are you okay? Did that mean boy leave you alone?”

After his shock has worn off, he reaches down to pick her up and gathers her into his arms. He has never held her so tightly before. His throat feels tight, and he doesn’t think he can speak, so he just rushes through the mall crowd again towards where he left Pepper at their table back in front of the McDonalds. 

Pepper is talking to two security officers, one of them nodding to what she’s saying while the other is turned away slightly saying something into his communication device. When Pepper turns her head slightly in their direction, she almost does a double take and then pushes one of the officers out of the way to get to them. In less than a second, she has them both in her arms.

“Oh, thank God,” she says, a tear trailing down one cheek when she pulls away to look at Morgan and hold her face in her hands. “Morgan. What did we say about running off? You know you were supposed to stay with Peter. Why did you run off?”

Morgan bursts into tears again and lets Pepper remove her from Peter’s arms. “But Mommy,” she cries, clinging to Pepper. “There was a mean boy. And he was--I saw him picking on Petey. I had to find you so you could stop him.”

Pepper just holds her closer and rubs her back. “It’s okay. You have a heart of gold, just like your daddy. But you know that Peter can protect himself, right? So next time, you stay with him. Promise?”

Morgan puts her arms around her mother’s neck and buries her face against Pepper’s collarbone. “I-I promise,” she says.

Pepper looks up at Peter for a moment, and then motions him in. “Come here, Peter.”

Peter hesitates, but eventually moves closer and leans into them, pressing the side of his face against Morgan’s back and letting Pepper put an arm around him. 

“Listen, Peter,” she says softly. “I don’t want you blaming yourself. You would do anything in your power to protect Morgan. I know it, she knows it, and Tony knows it. So take a deep breath. I’m going to talk to the security guards over there for a few minutes. I need you to grab our bags and then we’ll head home. Okay?”

Peter nods a little. “Okay,” he agrees and pulls away from her hold, ready to do just what she’s asked. He knows he didn’t lose Morgan on purpose, but it’s kind of still his fault, even though Pepper says otherwise. If he hadn’t let that dumb kid distract him, this never would have happened. He picks up all their purchases, which thankfully are still sitting beside the table even after all the commotion, and then walks back towards where Pepper and Morgan are standing with the security guards. Pepper is thanking them for their help, and then she motions that Peter should follow her out, so he does. 

When they get to the car, he loads everything into the trunk and then climbs into the passenger seat. Morgan has fallen asleep, and Pepper buckles her into her booster seat in the back. After Morgan is secured, Pepper climbs in beside Peter and puts on her own seatbelt. “Are you okay?” she asks once they’re finally navigating out of the parking lot.

Peter just shrugs while he looks out the window. The whole thing has shaken him up, and he’s not really sure how he feels about it yet. What he really wants to do is sit by Mr Stark back at the lake house and hide his face from the world just like Morgan had been doing earlier. But he’s not going to tell Pepper that.

“Everything is fine, Peter,” she says when he says nothing. “I need you to stop beating yourself up.”

He wipes at his eyes. “I just want to go back to the lake house.”

“Okay,” she says after a moment. “Try to rest a little. I’ll turn on some music.”

Peter turns toward the window and watches the landscape roll past. The music Pepper chose sounds like a Top 40 station, and he’s okay with that. He spends the whole trip thinking about what had happened at the mall even though he’s trying not to. So by the time Pepper pulls into the driveway of the lake house, he’s definitely ready to get out of the car. He takes all of their purchases as well as Pepper’s purse so she can carry Morgan into the house.

Mr Stark is watching something on the television in the living room, so Peter wastes no time in tossing everything onto a chair and crawling up onto the couch beside him.

“What’s wrong, Pete?” he asks when Peter hides his face against his shoulder, just like he had been planning on doing the entire way back. 

“I lost Morgan at the mall,” Peter gets out, but just barely.

Mr Stark puts his arm around him and pulls him closer. “That can’t be. I just saw Pepper go upstairs to put her down for a nap.”

The whole story spills out of him then. How they found clothes for both himself and Morgan and then about the stupid kid in the fitting room. He told Mr Stark about McDonalds and how that kid came back, and then when he realized Morgan was gone and the panic. All the way up until he found her in front of the leather store. “I felt awful,” he says, finishing up, burying his face back into Mr Stark’s t-shirt.

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” Mr Stark says gently, rubbing his arm. “That kid runs off all the time. She gets it from me. Only my dad used to not be so nice about it. I remember being five when Jarvis took me shopping to pick out school clothes. There was a little kiddie playground on one end of the mall, and I begged him to let me play, but he said we couldn’t--no time or something. So when we were looking at clothes, I ran off when his back was turned. I was determined to find that playground, but I was five, and I couldn’t remember where it was. I don’t even know how long I wandered around until some old lady found me and helped me find Jarvis again. He was upset with me, and I felt bad, but it wasn’t until I got home when the real punishment started. My dad spanked me so hard, I had bruises on my ass for a week. Then he sent me to my room without dinner. I was the richest kid in the United States, but I felt like the hungriest, too. I cried for hours, and not even my mother came to comfort me. It was awful.” Mr Stark takes a breath. “So what I’m trying to say is if anyone is to blame, it’s my genes. Which I got from Howard, so we can just blame him, okay? Totally one hundred percent, not your fault.”

Peter opens an eye. He thinks how Mr Stark’s dad treated him was horrible. It’s not something the man talks about a lot, and probably for good reason, but Peter feels honored that Mr Stark has shared some of it with him. Also, he would probably feel content to just listen to Mr Stark talk no matter what he was talking about. “I still feel bad,” he mutters, squeezing his eyes shut again.

“Well, don’t,” Mr Stark says. “No one else blames you for anything, so why should you blame yourself? You’re a good kid, Pete, and you do your best all the time. We all love you around here, and that’s not going to change. So if no one else is blaming you, then you’re not allowed to blame yourself. That’s a house rule.”

Peter can’t help but let out a tearful chuckle. Mr Stark’s house rules seem to be made up as they go along. He seems to be very good at making up rules and just as good at breaking ones placed upon him by other people. Peter supposes that’s what he meant by operating in the ‘gray area’ way back around the time when they first met.

“I’m on your side, kid,” Mr Stark says softly, pressing a kiss into his hair. “And I’ll always be on your side.”

~*~

By the time Peter’s second week with Mr Stark is over, he begins to feel a dread building in his chest. He still has the two extra days that Happy gave him. The good news is that Mr Stark is a little more steady on his feet. He and Peter have been making daily walks around the property, sometimes with Morgan and sometimes with Pepper, and by the end of the second week, Mr Stark isn’t really limping anyway. He’s a little slow, and he gets tired easily, but he can walk without risk of falling, and that’s the main thing. What’s even better is that his skin has healed enough that Pepper is allowing him to wear the arm sometimes. She only lets him wear it for a few hours at a time because the skin is still sore and healing, but it’s a definite improvement. 

So even though Peter is dreading leaving Mr Stark and going back to Queens, he feels a little okay with it because Mr Stark is doing so much better than when he arrived two weeks ago. He can maybe handle it. 

May told him she has some things they need to take care of at their apartment, but doesn’t say what. Peter has a strong suspicion it involves either packing or moving, and he’s not really looking forward to that either, but it’s his life, and he supposes he has to deal with it. Now that Mr Stark is okay, he feels like he can get through it. And then hopefully the time will fly by, and before he knows it, he’ll be back at the lake house. 

“You’re extra clingy tonight,” Mr Stark says on Saturday night. 

The two of them are sitting out on the porch together. Everyone else has gone to bed, including Happy who arrived just a few hours ago, but Peter doesn’t want to sleep. He doesn’t want to waste his time with Mr Stark by doing something like sleeping. “I don’t want to leave,” Peter mutters, curling in closer. “I wish May would let me stay here. At least until this is all over, and you don’t have to be a secret anymore.”

“I don’t know how long that’s going to take, Pete. It might be a few months. It might be a year, or maybe even longer. They didn’t give me a timeline. I’m just going to have to get extra comfortable here. At first it felt like a prison, but now that everyone I love can come visit me, it’s not so bad. I’ll make it through,” Mr Stark says and rubs his back. He only has his real left arm because Pepper made him take off the nanobot arm and the vest before she went to bed, but it’s okay. Peter is used to him having only one arm by now. To him, Mr Stark is still whole.

“As long as they can’t find you here,” Peter whispers like someone might hear him. “I’m going to be really careful once I leave, I promise. No one will find out from me. I won’t even tell Ned. I swear.”

“No one’s going to find me,” Tony reassures. “Just you when you get back here in two weeks. You can tell me about all your adventures in the city and about how you tortured Happy. It’s gonna be great. Besides, since I’m stuck here, I may as well live vicariously through you, right?”

Peter blinks back his tears and smiles against Mr Stark’s t-shirt. “I guess. And we have those texting devices we made when I first got here. You called them spiders. I’m gonna be sending you messages all the time.”

“Good,” Mr Stark says. “Because I’ll be bored without you here, and I’ll need someone to entertain me besides Morgan. Pepper’s going into the city on Monday for some SI stuff, so it’ll be just me, Morgan, and Rhodey for a few days. Then she comes back on Thursday and Rhodey leaves for DC. I kinda feel like they’re babysitting me, but I promise I’ll be nice about it.”

Peter thinks he’s probably right. In a way, they are babysitting him. “But Mr Stark, when you’re in your therapy sessions, who’s going to watch Morgan? So maybe it’s really Morgan who needs babysitting. Not you. Also, if something bad happens, it’s probably for the best.”

Mr Stark squeezes his shoulder. “Nothing bad is going to happen, Pete,” he says, his voice a little stern to drive the point home. “You’ll see. You’ll come back here, and everything will be exactly where you left it. Including me. Only I’ll be stronger and more awesome by then.”

Peter swallows hard while he presses the side of his face into Mr Stark’s shoulder. He definitely thinks Mr Stark is just saying that so he won’t worry. It’s what May does, too, but Peter is old enough to know that bad things sometimes happen. Hell, he has experienced them first hand. So he’s not naive enough to believe that everything will be okay just because Mr Stark says so, but he does appreciate the sentiment.

Before he can reply, there’s a knock on the doorframe to the house, and they both look up to see Pepper standing there.

“It’s late,” she says, looking at them with a soft smile. “You two should get to bed.”

Peter doesn’t want to let go of Mr Stark. “I’ll sleep on the car ride back,” he tells Pepper, tightening his hold.

She pulls her bathrobe around herself. “It’s also a little chilly out here. At least come inside and camp out on the couch, okay?”

Mr Stark moves to get up. “Alright, we’re coming,” he says. “Maybe we can watch a movie until he’s sleepy.”

Peter’s okay with that plan, so he let’s Mr Stark go so they can both stand up. He hops right up, but Mr Stark is a bit slower. Once he’s standing, he stretches a little and then puts his hand on Peter’s shoulder. 

“Lead the way, kid.”

After Pepper goes back up to bed, Peter finds the blankets in a closet in the hallway and brings every single one into the living room where he builds a nest around where Mr Stark sits on the couch. When he’s done, he grabs the television remote and climbs up in beside him. 

“Settling in for the night?” Mr Stark says when Peter starts scrolling through Netflix shows.

He finds a movie that he hasn’t seen before but looks interesting. He hopes he can pay attention and most of all, stay awake, but he wouldn’t place any bets on it. “We don’t have to stay here _all_ night,” he says, setting the remote on the coffee table and then leaning back into Mr Stark’s side. 

“Mm hm,” Mr Stark hums, clearly not believing him.

“Have you seen this movie before, Mr Stark?” Peter asks as the credits play. He wants to desperately change the subject onto more harmless topics. He knows he has to go home tomorrow, and he knows that Mr Stark knows he doesn’t want to go to sleep. He just doesn’t really want to get into why.

“No, I don’t think so. My movie viewing for the last five years has been dictated by Morgan. This is a bit too adult for her. It looks good though. You have good taste, Pete.”

Peter puts his head back on Mr Stark’s shoulder and lets himself relax. He remembers maybe the first ten minutes of the movie. Turns out he sucks at staying awake.


	13. Way Way Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Peter,” Mr Stark says, putting his hand in Peter’s hair and holding his head against his shoulder. “I’m going to be fine. Stop worrying so much. I hate it when you worry.”
> 
> Peter sniffs. “Okay. I’ll try.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helllooooo!! How is everyone? You guys are awesome. I'm still writing this story. I'm almost to the climax of the plot (will begin in chapter 16) and then it will start to wind down from there, but I'm thinking about possibly writing a sequel. I'm a little bummed over the Sony vs Disney news right now, so I'm not exactly sure how I feel. I will definitely keep writing irondad fluff, but I'm not sure I'm going to be into my original idea for the sequel considering. We'll see! I'm going to try to get chapter 16 done by the end of this weekend, and then I'll post 14 for you early next week if that happens. (Yeah, my buffer is down to 2 chapters lol)
> 
> Thanks so much for your comments and kudos! I love you! <3

Chapter 13

Peter knows he’s being annoying. He made Mr Stark sleep on the couch all night even though the man probably would have preferred to sleep in his bed. And then today, he isn’t leaving Mr Stark’s side for nothing. Not even Morgan can pull him away when she insists that he come outside to play with her after breakfast. She pouts pretty heavily, so Rhodey takes her hand and pulls her outside to play with her instead.

The morning goes by quickly, and then it speeds into the afternoon. Before Peter knows it, Mr Stark is telling him he should go grab his things because Happy looks impatient. Happy hears the comment and shoots him a pointed look, but it’s ignored. 

“What if I call May and ask if I could stay another week?” Peter says from where he sits beside Mr Stark on the porch. “Maybe she’d say yes.”

Happy opens his mouth but then closes it. It’s obvious he doesn’t want to be the bad guy. Peter can see him exchanging a look with Mr Stark, and it’s not good. The next thing he knows, he’s looking right at Mr Stark, and he already knows the answer.

“You’ll be back,” Mr Stark says. “I will leave this place and come for you if you’re not back here in exactly two weeks. Some people might be really mad about that, but I’ll come for you. I promise.”

Peter leans into him. “No, I think you should stay here. I think it’s safe here.”

Mr Stark kisses the crown of his head. “Okay, buddy. Go grab your things and say goodbye to everyone. I’ll wait right here for you.”

For a moment, Peter doesn’t move. He knew this was going to be hard, but now that the moment is here, all he wants is to resist it. He pulls away from Mr Stark and rushes back into the house while he wipes at his eyes. He told himself he wasn’t going to cry, and maybe it doesn’t count if no one sees him. So after he gets into his room, he closes the door and takes a few calming breaths, trying to get it under control. Then he grabs his already packed bags, his spider phone tucked safely inside of his backpack, and then finds where Pepper and Morgan and Rhodey are sitting at the kitchen table. 

Pepper sees him and hands him a bag. “Here are some sandwiches for you and Happy for the road in case you get hungry.” She leans a little closer to him and whispers, “Morgan made the peanut butter and jelly one, so eat it with caution.”

He can’t help but smile, even though his heart hurts. He lets Pepper give him a tight hug and a kiss to the side of his face before he sees that Morgan is crying softly in her chair at the table. 

She holds her arms up to Peter. “I don’t want you to go.”

He gathers her up in his arms and tries his best not to join her in crying. “I don’t either,” he says, his voice a little strained. “But I’ll be back, I promise. In two weeks. And we can still talk on the phone. You can call me whenever you want. Okay?”

After what feels like a long moment, she nods her head against his shoulder. “Okay. I promise I will.”

He gives her an extra squeeze and then lets her slide down to the floor. Pepper has to walk away with her because she’s still crying. Peter watches them, and Rhodey puts a heavy hand on his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry,” Rhodey says. “Tony and Morgan aren’t going to know what to do without you.”

Peter bites his lip. He thinks Rhodey is probably trying to make him feel better, but it’s not working. Instead, he just wants to fight harder to stay. If Mr Stark and Morgan are going to be miserable without him there, then maybe he really should call May and beg to stay one last time. The truth, however, is that he can’t stay forever. Spider-Man belongs in Queens, and he has a whole life there. Of course that doesn’t mean that he won’t be back. He will be back, and he will spend as much as the summer there as he’s allowed to.

So instead of giving into the tears, he turns to Rhodey and takes in a breath. “Promise me you’ll make sure nothing happens to him. I won’t be here to protect him, so while I’m gone, you have to. Promise me!”

Rhodey’s eyes go big in surprise for just a second. “I promise, kid. Don’t worry. This place is set up like a fortress. No one gets in or out without clearance from me personally.”

“Maybe you can reschedule your DC trip?”

Rhodey raises an eyebrow at him.

“Mr Stark told me about it. I mean, maybe you can stay here instead to make sure that no one gets in who isn’t supposed to.” Peter looks away from him, like maybe he’s asking for too much. How can he tell the Iron Patriot that he can’t go to DC? That’s not his place. But Mr Stark’s safety means the world to him, so he’d be willing to ask anything just to make sure he’s safe.

Rhodey digs into his pocket and produces a new looking Stark phone. “I can control everything from there, Peter. If anything goes wrong, there are people I can call who are poised and ready. Not that any of that’s going to happen, because we’re practically invisible here. Didn’t Tony tell you?”

“He did,” Peter says. “I just need to make sure that nothing’s gonna happen to him while I’m gone.”

“Nothing will happen to him, I promise,” Rhodey says, giving Peter’s arm a few pats. “We’ve got it handled. So you can go home to your aunt, and try not to worry about Tony. He’s gotten a lot stronger since you’ve been here, and I have a feeling it’s partially because of you. So he’s going to be just fine. And you’ll be back before you know it.”

Peter forces a strained smile. He wants to believe Rhodey. He really does. It’s just that he would feel better if he were there making sure nothing bad happened to Mr Stark.

“Go on,” Rhodey says. “Go say goodbye. I’ll be here when you get back in a few weeks.”

Peter makes a last second decision to throw his arms around Rhodey and give him a quick hug. “Thanks, Mr Rhodes,” he mutters. “I’m so glad you’re looking out for him.”

“No problem, Peter.” Rhodey gives him a gentle push. “Now go on.”

Peter smiles through watery eyes and then grabs his bags that he left in the living room before rushing back out to the porch. 

Happy stands up when he sees Peter and takes his bags from him. “You ready?”

Peter just glares at him because he hates that question. No, he’s absolutely not ready, and if Happy had stopped to think for one second, he would have realized that. But he doesn’t want to make it weird during the long car ride back to Queens, so instead, he says, “Just… give me a second. Okay?”

Happy looks at Mr Stark, who nods at him, before he sighs and makes his way to the car with Peter’s things.

Once they’re alone, Peter reclaims his seat beside Mr Stark and puts his arms around him. “Promise me that you’ll text me if anything weird happens. I’ll force Happy to drive me back here. If it’s an emergency, maybe we can take the jet. I don’t know where it would land, but—”

“Peter,” Mr Stark says, putting his hand in Peter’s hair and holding his head against his shoulder. “I’m going to be fine. Stop worrying so much. I hate it when you worry.”

Peter sniffs. “Okay. I’ll try.”

Mr Stark clears his throat. “You send me a message tonight. Let me know that you’re okay. And I’ll tell you how I am, too. We’re both going to be just fine.” He kisses Peter’s forehead and moves his hand to Peter’s shoulder, giving him a gentle push. “Now go. Happy’s waiting for you.”

For a few seconds, Peter doesn’t move. He just sits on the edge of the bench and looks at Mr Stark. The moment he’s been dreading has come rushing at him like a bullet, and he wants nothing more than to dodge it. But instead, he stands up and blinks back his tears. “Okay. I’ll do that. Promise you’ll reply. If I don’t hear from you, I’m calling Pepper or Rhodey.”

Mr Stark’s eyes meet his. They look tired and a little wet. “I promise I will. Don’t keep Happy waiting.”

Peter ignores him and rushes back to hug him one more time. “I love you, Mr Stark,” he whispers. “I never told you that before. I’m sorry I didn’t. I should have said it when we were on Titan.”

“Kid!” Mr Stark says, letting his arm come back around Peter. “I’m seriously trying not to cry here. What are you doing? Pepper’s going to come out here when you leave, and I’m going to be a mess.”

Peter laughs, but it sounds a little sad.

“I love you, too, by the way,” Mr Stark says after a moment. “I should have said it back then, too. Now seriously, go. I’ll see you in two weeks.”

Peter pulls back again and stands up straight, wiping at his eyes with the backs of his hands. “Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Okay, I’ll see you then. Exactly two weeks.” Peter takes a few steps back, doing his best to smile before he turns around and heads down the stairs to the front walk. He turns back around when he gets halfway to the car. “Bye, Mr Stark!” he yells.

Mr Stark is watching him over the porch railing. “Bye, Pete!”

He grins and runs to Happy’s car, pulling the door open and climbing into the passenger seat. 

Happy already has the air conditioning on full blast, and it’s a little chilly. Happy just looks at him and reaches to put the car into reverse. “What can I do to prevent you from crying the whole way back?” he asks.

Peter wipes at his eyes again. “I’m actually kind of hungry,” he says. “Can we stop for some food?” He figures they can eat the sandwiches Pepper packed later on. He wants to see how many cheeseburgers Happy will buy for him.

“Food,” Happy says, putting his arm around the back of Peter’s seat so he can look behind him while he backs out of the drive. “Figures. Buckle up.”

~*~

Peter actually gets three cheeseburgers before Happy draws a line. But he also gets fries and a giant soda, so he’s content. When Happy discovers the bag of sandwiches that Pepper packed, he gives Peter a short lived glare, but eats one of the sandwiches on top of his own cheeseburger anyway. Luckily for Happy, he doesn’t pick the peanut butter and jelly one.

Peter’s ready for a long nap when they pull up in front of his apartment building in Queens, but when the door opens and May steps out, it’s clear that he’s not going to get a nap right away. For one thing, he feels like he hasn’t been back there in years when it’s literally only been a week and two days, but for another thing, it’s kind of strange that May is meeting them outside. It means that Happy gave her a heads up when they were almost home. And suddenly, Peter is nervous.

The first thing that happens when he gets out of the car is a giant hug from May. She holds onto him so tightly, he doesn’t think she’s going to let go. But then Happy clears his throat, and she finally does. 

Happy hands Peter his bags before shouldering his own and then pulling in May for a quick kiss. “Should we find somewhere to sit?” he asks her.

Peter has to turn away. This is going to take a lot of getting used to. He hasn’t ever seen anyone else but his Uncle Ben kiss May, and it’s a lot to take in. He swallows his feelings for the moment and takes in a breath. “Can’t we go up to the apartment? I’m really tired.”

Happy unlocks the car. “Why don’t we get back inside for just a second.”

“What?” Peter looks at him as though he’s crazy. “Why? We just spent several hours in that car. I want to get in my bed.”

May gently puts her hand on his arm. “Please, Peter? It won’t take long. We just want to talk to you for a few minutes. That’s all.”

“Did something bad happen?” he asks, but opens his door back up again.

“No, no,” May says. “Nothing bad.”

Everyone crawls into the car, Peter and Happy reclaiming their previous seats, and May climbing into the back seat and scooting over until she’s sitting in the middle, leaning forward.

“Okay,” she says, taking in a breath, and looking directly at Peter. “I love you, Peter. You know that you are my number one priority. It is my job in life to make sure that you’re happy and safe. Your alter ego doesn’t exactly put you in the safest position, but that’s why we’ve got Tony. He can’t exactly be here right now, as you know, so I need to make sure you’re protected. This apartment, this neighborhood, we worked so hard to make your life the best we could, Ben and I, and it was okay. But things have changed, and we don’t have Ben anymore. Tony can’t be here, so I think the best thing to do is to move in with Happy.”

“You already told me,” Peter reminds her. He’s not exactly jumping for joy over it, but he’s resigned himself to that fate. It’s going to be weird living with Happy, but at least he only has to be there part of the time. He’s definitely going to be staying with Mr Stark’s family every chance he gets--at least until Mr Stark is fully recovered. By then he’s hoping he’s used to May being with Happy. And if not, maybe he’ll be going off to college. Not that he really wants to think about that right now, either. “Why are we talking in Happy’s car, anyway? I want to go upstairs.”

May shares a look with Happy and then refocuses back on Peter. “I just wanted you to be prepared for what you’re going to see. We have already started to move some of the smaller things, so the space is a little empty right now.”

His eyes widen, and he holds his breath, trying to process everything. “What? I thought this was going to happen when I got back? And now suddenly you’re halfway moved without me?” He looks at Happy. “Did either of you go through my stuff, because I think that’s a huge invasion of privacy.”

Happy shakes his head vigorously, and May reaches forward to squeeze Peter’s arm. “We did not go through your things. Your room is as you left it. Besides, it looks like a scrapyard, and we wouldn’t really know what to do with it anyway. Maybe you can go through it this week and decide what you want to keep.”

“Everything,” Peter says, folding his arms over his chest because he feels a little angry at the moment. “I want to keep everything. I hope my new room will fit it all.”

“It’s twice as big,” Happy mumbles.

Peter expects May to say that he still needs to go through his things. This is something they usually do together, or at least they have in the past. She will sit down in his room and help him sort out what to keep, toss, or donate. Living in a small space means that sometimes you have to make hard decisions, and Peter is used to it. But when she’s quiet, he looks back at her with questioning eyes. 

“You can keep whatever you want, Peter,” she finally says. “I’m not going to make you get rid of anything if you don’t want to. Maybe we can build you a little workshop on one side of the room. Would you like that?”

He just blinks at her, a little stunned. He’s never had his own workshop before. Well, he used to have his own little corner of Tony’s workshop, but that probably got destroyed with Thano’s attack on the compound. “Okay, yeah,” he says, looking down at his hands. 

“Maybe you can be a little more organized that way,” May goes on. “We’ll get you some bins to put all those scraps in so they’re not laying all over your room anymore.”

Peter nods. In any other situation, he would be absolutely thrilled about his own mini workshop, but he just can’t work up the enthusiasm. All he wants to do is crawl into his bed and text Mr Stark to let him know he made it home safely. “Can we go up now?”

“By the way,” May says before anyone can open their doors. She picks up a large shopping bag in the seat next to her. “What is all this?”

Happy just rolls his eyes. “Kid’s gonna need a bigger closet, too. Pepper took him shopping.”

Peter never wants to think about that shopping trip again, so he gets out of the car and then turns to take the bag from May. When he gets to the apartment building door, Happy is already there with a key, opening it up and holding it for him so he can walk past. He hadn’t even thought that maybe Happy would have a key, but now he doesn’t need to because clearly, he does. Not that it even matters anymore. In a week or so, this won’t even be his home anymore.

On that sad thought, he climbs the stairs up to the seventh floor two at a time, and then uses his own key to let himself in. May and Happy are taking longer. If Peter really listened he could hear their conversation about him coming up the stairwell, but instead, he enters the apartment and closes the door behind him. He doesn’t want to listen to them, anyway. 

And then it’s quiet. So quiet, that his feet echo on the hardwood floor. Then again, maybe that’s because so many things have been removed from the living room. With stuff gone, it’s almost like a big, cavernous hole, just like he sometimes feels on the inside. No wonder it echoes.

He takes in a deep breath and tries to remind himself that this isn’t the worst it could be. He has already lived through his worst, and things are better now. Like Mr Stark said, Happy really is a good guy. He clearly cares for May, and he probably likes Peter a little bit, too. Things are not that bad. It’s just hard to say goodbye to a home he’s spent most of his life in. He’s lost so much already, and pretty soon, he won’t even have this familiar place where he and May and Ben shared so many memories. 

He can hear Happy and May in the hallway, so he makes a dash to his room, and closes the door behind himself before they can enter the apartment. He fishes out his spider device, and tosses the rest of his things next to the scrap heap in the corner before kicking off his shoes and climbing on top of his bed. At least his room still looks normal.

**Peter: I’m back in Queens. It’s weird here. Happy and May cornered me and said that we’re moving sooner than I thought. I have to pack up all my things. But I guess my room will be bigger at Happy’s, so that’s a plus. Also May says I can have a workshop in my room. Could be worse I guess**

He stares at the device for a few minutes, wishing Mr Stark would reply, but then lets it fall to his bed. He shouldn’t expect a reply right away. There is no way Mr Stark will be able to answer him if he’s with anyone else, so it might be awhile.

He’s just drifting off when he hears a small ping and opens his eyes. He scoops up the device, his eyes hungrily searching for a reply.

**Mr Stark: I’m glad you’re okay. We miss you already. One day you’ll have to let me see your new workshop. Maybe I can make some improvements. Try to hang in there, kid. Change is hard, I know, but you’re literally the strongest kid I know, so I think you’ll be fine. Plus, you got me on your side. Don’t ever forget that.**

**Peter: I want to come back.**

**Mr Stark: You will. Time is going to fly, and before you know it, you’ll be right back here. In the meantime, be good for your aunt and Happy. They’re probably just as stressed as you are.**

**Peter: I’ll try my best.**

**Mr Stark: Oh, and tell me about everything. Spare no details! I want to hear it all. I gotta go. Pepper’s calling me. Text all you want though. I’ll reply later tonight. Love you, kid.**

Peter sends about ten different colored heart emojis, and then he flips over in his bed so he’s facing the wall. He already feels better after talking to Mr Stark. He’s so glad they hacked into those old Stark phones so they could still text one another while he’s away. Even though his world has kind of been turned on end, at least he still has everyone he loves back in his life. And as long as Mr Stark stays safe at the lake house, then maybe everything will be okay. He just has to get through some really hard moving days. 

Saying goodbye is hard, but at least this time it's just an apartment.


	14. Sing Me Sweet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Where’s May?” Peter asks, causing Happy to drop a piece of bacon back onto the pan.
> 
> “Jesus, kid,” Happy says, turning to look at him. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”
> 
> Peter steps into the kitchen. “Also, who’s that bacon for?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long to get out! I was having major issues writing 16, but @jwriter819 poked me and got me going again, so here's 14! On a side note, my eyes are okay (I just had an appt with the specialist today) and my dad is feeling better. I think those were the things I mentioned in previous chapter notes.
> 
> Thank you again for your kudos and comments!! My eyes are dilated, but I will get to replying to comments as soon as I can see normally again. lol <3

Peter lies in bed until May calls him for supper. He’s been perfectly content to lie there and pretend his whole world isn’t changing. He even did some more of his summer reading, but when May calls him out of his room, his mood drops. He knows he’s going to pack up his stuff, but when he walks out and sees the boxes already stacked in the corner of the living room, it almost feels like they left without him. Then again, if they had started packing up his things without him, he would have been hurt even more. So he guesses he can’t really blame them. 

May puts her arms around him and kisses the side of his face. “We got your favorite,” she says, attempting to lead him from the living room and towards the kitchen. 

However, he still notices that all their family photos are packed away in some box. He doesn’t know if they’re going to come out of the box when they get to Happy’s place or if they’ll end up packed away forever.

She stops trying to tug on his arm. “Are you okay?”

“I think I’d be better if I had five years to deal with all this change.” He sighs. “But I didn’t.” He wants to say so much more. Like how he wants everything to go back to how it was, or how if he has to deal with this weird present, then he’d rather live with Mr Stark. But considering most of the world still thinks Mr Stark is dead, and there’s really nothing he can do about that, he’s kind of stuck. So he doesn’t say anything else because it would be pointless. 

“I know, sweetie. And I’m sorry. If I could wish for one thing it would be that you had been here those five years. Things would have been so much easier.” She puts her hand on his back, and finally, he allows her to lead him to the kitchen. “But then you’d be some big college man by now, and I wouldn’t get to do this.” She kisses him on the side of his face again.

When Peter looks up, Happy is sitting at the kitchen table lifting a dumpling to his mouth, and they meet eyes. He hates it because he doesn’t want Happy to see him as a little kid, and May is embarrassing him. Between May and Mr Stark, Happy is never going to take him seriously again. Then he remembers that first day at the lake house, and how he was practically a sobbing mess. Back then, he hadn’t even been thinking about Happy and didn’t care, but it looks like he’s going to have to get over it quickly because he’s probably going to be seeing Happy a lot now.

“Sit down,” May says, giving him a push towards his usual spot at the table before she selects a container from the table. “We got your favorite for you. Happy, give him some dumplings, too. He likes those.”

As much as Peter feels a little unsettled, he doesn’t want them falling all over him either. He’s pretty sure he would be upset no matter what, and that just makes him more frustrated. But he’s hungry, so he accepts three steamed dumplings from Happy onto his plate and then dishes himself up from the container that May has pushed towards him. 

At first, it’s pretty quiet while they eat. Then after May reaches for some more rice, she clears her throat, looking up at Peter while she holds onto the container. “Are you going to call Ned tomorrow? I saw his mother at the grocery store a few days ago. She said Ned was really bored with you out of town. He could come over. Or you can go over there. Whatever you want to do.”

Peter swallows his mouthful. “Half of our things are gone,” he says. “And I should probably start packing up my room. I’ll call him though. Speaking of my room, when do I have to have everything ready?”

May exchanges a look with Happy. “Our last day here is the end of July,” she answers. “So you probably want to make sure most things are moved by the time you go back to the lake house.”

Peter shoves a dumpling in his mouth so he doesn’t have to say anything right away. What’s not being said is that they agreed he would be going back to the lake house and Mr Stark in two weeks, but they never actually said how long he could stay. “Can I go out tonight?” he asks once he swallows. He’d rather argue about Spider-man than talk about how much time he can have at the lake house. Clearly, that’s a sore subject.

It takes May an extra long time to reply. “How about you give Ned a call and see what he’s up to. Catch up a little with him. And then you can go out. But please don’t stay out too late. Okay?”

“Midnight?” Peter suggests. 

“I guess that’s reasonable. But if anything goes wrong, you call one of us immediately. Got it?”

Peter finally allows himself to smile because this kind of conversation feels normal to him. “I just want to swing around a little. I promise I won’t get in trouble.” He doesn’t think he’s ready to get involved in anything too big, anyway.

“Famous last words,” Happy mutters before stuffing his mouth with another dumpling. 

“I promise,” Peter says again. “I don’t even want to look for trouble tonight. I just want some fresh air. If I end up being wrong, you can make fun of me later.”

Happy swallows and then reaches for his drink, sucking down a few gulps through the straw. “Just so you know, Peter,” he says, wiping at his mouth with a napkin. “I still report back to Tony with everything Spider-man related. He made sure I knew that.”

“And—” May says before Peter has a chance to talk. “He also reports back to me.”

Peter frowns and takes another bite of his food. He’s wondering how Happy will report back to Mr Stark and May if Peter doesn’t tell him anything. Then again, all the protocols that Mr Stark set up in his suit are probably still active. He’s going to keep that in mind, but he’s definitely not going to mention it just in case Happy forgot, and Mr Stark didn’t remind him. Five years is a long time for someone like Happy to forget about stuff like that. 

He stuffs the last few bites into his mouth and then grabs his can of soda. “I’m gonna go call Ned, and then I’ll leave. I’ll let you know when I’m back. Thanks for dinner! Good night!” 

Peter hurries into his room and closes the door behind himself. After he downs the last remaining bit of soda, he sets the can on his desk, and then checks his spider phone. Mr Stark hasn’t written anything, but Peter has a lot to say, so he types out a message about going out tonight and then about the awkward meal he just ate with May and Happy. He promises to give a full report of his time out as Spider-man when he gets back later on that night, and then picks up his real phone to call Ned.

“Hey, man!” Ned says, answering the call. “Are you back? Was it amazing? You should tell me all about it.”

“Yeah, I’m back,” Peter says, flopping down on his bed and looking up at the ceiling. “It was awesome, but I can’t actually talk much about it. Kind of top secret stuff. Sorry.” He hates not telling his best friend about Mr Stark being alive, but it’s literally life and death that he keeps the secret, so he’s going to have to do it no matter how hard it is. “Actually…” he says slowly, “I’m going back in two weeks. May didn’t say how long I can stay yet. I’ll let you know when I find out though.”

“Is this like an Avengers summer retreat?” Ned asks, sounding excited.

Peter almost groans. The more he says about it, the more questions Ned will ask and the more lies he’s going to have to make up. Which is not good. “Ned, please,” he says, trying to turn it all around. “I’m not allowed to talk about it, so please can we change the subject?”

“Okay, fine. Well, when are we going to have a movie night? This summer has been completely boring with you gone. And if you’re going to leave again for who knows how long, we better do it at least once before you go.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”

“So? Your place or mine? And when?”

“Let’s do your place,” Peter says, rolling to his side and lowering his voice. “There’s some things going on here that I need to tell you about, but I’ll have to wait till I see you in person. It’s just better if we watch movies there. And uh, any night but tonight. I’m going to go swinging a little. Plus I just got back.”

“What about Friday night then?” Ned asks. “And is everything okay?”

“It’s complicated,” Peter mutters. “And yeah, I think Friday should be good. I’ll double check with May, but I think she’ll say yes. You let me know what your parents say, too.”

“Are you kidding? They’ve been asking since school got out when you’re coming over. The answer will be yes, I’m sure.”

Peter agrees to keep Ned posted on May’s answer, and then they hang up. The second Peter is free from the phone, he changes into his regular suit and then slips his phone and the spider device into the pockets at his hip. Then he cracks open his bedroom door. 

“I’m leaving, May! Night!” he calls, not bothering to wait for an answer before he climbs out the window and swings to the next roof.

~*~

Peter has the worst night of sleep he’s had in a long time. Normally, with nightmares that bad, he would wake May up and they would sit together and watch some dumb show on TV until he felt okay to go back to sleep, but with Happy there, he stays in his room. Instead, he sends texts to Mr Stark. He’s not expecting an answer considering it’s after three AM, but a few minutes after he sends them, he gets a reply. He doesn’t know if Mr Stark was also lying awake, or if the texts woke him up, but he doesn’t ask. They send messages back and forth for about thirty minutes, and then Peter tries to sleep again.

He’s not really sure what he’d do without that line to Mr Stark, but it probably wouldn’t be good.

He wakes up in the morning to the smell of bacon, and though he’s exhausted from not sleeping much, it spurs him out of his room. What he’s not expecting is to find Happy standing at the stove, carefully removing bacon from a frying pan and placing them on a plate covered with a paper towel.

“Where’s May?” he asks, causing Happy to drop a piece of bacon back onto the pan.

“Jesus, kid,” Happy says, turning to look at him. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

Peter steps into the kitchen. “Also, who’s that bacon for?”

“You,” Happy says, finishing up putting it all on the plate. “But you have to share it with me. And I still need to make the eggs, so sit down and be patient. As for May, she went off to work. She told me to tell you that you don’t have to start packing today if you don’t want to. Oh, and you can pick what we have for lunch. If you want.”

Peter sits down at the table and rests his tired head in his hand. “Are you the babysitter or something?”

Happy takes a few seconds to answer. “No. I think you’re old enough that you don’t need one. Besides, I have some errands to run for Pepper this afternoon, so you’re on your own then. Unless you want to come with?” Happy looks at Peter with a raised eyebrow.

“I think I’ll pack,” Peter says, opening the fridge and reaching for the orange juice. He doesn’t really want to pack, but he figures he’ll have to do it anyway, and the longer his room stays as is while the rest of the apartment gets packed and moved, the weirder he thinks he’ll feel about it. “Can I use some of those boxes I saw against the wall in the living room?”

Happy is stirring up a bowl of scrambled eggs and doesn’t look at him. “Knock yourself out. I’ll pick up some more boxes on my way back.” He pours the eggs into the frying pan, and they sizzle on top of the remaining bacon grease.

Peter is so hungry that he sets the table for the two of them without being asked, and even pours an additional glass of orange juice for Happy. When Happy brings the food to the table, Peter devours it in record speed and gulps down his juice. Happy has barely even started eating when Peter is bringing his dishes to the sink. 

“Thanks, Happy,” Peter says, rushing out of the kitchen. “I’m gonna start packing. I’ll do the dishes, later!” he calls over his shoulder and then grabs the boxes on the way back to his room. The rest of the morning is spent hastily throwing things into boxes. He starts with everything he wants in his new workshop area and writes that on the boxes. Then he moves onto his school stuff. When he gets to his closet, he decides to take a break and lie down on his bed. In no time at all, he’s back asleep, this time surrounded by a complete mess.

~*~

When May gets back from work that evening, Peter has packed up almost everything in his room. She stands in his doorway, stunned. “Well, you’ve been busy,” she says, looking around at all the sealed boxes.

Peter tapes up the last box he’s working on for the day. “Yeah. I don’t think there’s any point in putting it off. I mean, the faster I get this done, the faster we can leave, and then pretty soon I’ll be going back to the lake house. I didn’t really want to sit around just thinking about what I had to do. Might as well do it.”

May walks over to where he’s sitting at his desk and puts her arm around his back. “I know this is hard, Peter. But I appreciate the effort you’re putting into it. Things are going to get easier once we’re settled. I promise.”

Peter doesn’t say anything, but he does lean into her side. She’s right, of course. He doesn’t really want to move in with Happy, per se, but once it’s all over with, maybe they can fall into some sort of routine. Sort of like how there’s a routine at Mr Stark’s house, too. 

“Why don’t you finish up what you’re doing and then come out for supper. Happy made a stir fry,” May pats him on the back and moves towards the door.

“Okay,” Peter agrees. After the door shuts behind her, he wonders if Happy is going to be cooking all the time. He doesn’t really mind it. Happy is probably a better cook than May is. Actually, almost everyone is a better cook than May.

His spider device pings from where it’s sitting on his bed. Peter dives for it and ends up tumbling onto his mattress.

**Mr Stark: I’m so bored. Pepper left earlier and I can’t even talk to her when she’s gone. (no phone) Rhodey took Morgan on a walk. I didn’t really want to go. I miss you, Peter. Without you here, I’m going to have to find some sort of project to do. The good news is that my skin has healed enough for me to wear the arm. Still light duty of course, but it’s a step in the right direction. Tell me everything you did today. That’s an order.**

**Peter: I’m bored too! I was so bored I packed up my whole room. Well, I left out some clothes and stuff and things I’m going to need. But it’s pretty much all packed. Here look.**

***Photo attached***

**Peter: May was impressed. I’m gonna go eat now though. I’ll tell you more later. Btw, do you know how good of a cook Happy is? He made me breakfast this morning and now he’s making stir fry. Should I be worried?**

**Mr Stark: You did great! I’m glad you had an okay day. And Happy’s a decent cook. Probably a hundred times better than your aunt. Don’t you dare tell her I said that. I mean it!**

**Peter: I won’t! Brb!**

He slides the device under his pillow and then races out his bedroom door, past the living room and into the kitchen, where May and Happy are setting the table. Peter helps pour the drinks, and then everyone sits down. He has to admit, Happy’s cooking looks and smells delicious. He got a little spoiled staying with Mr Stark, but this looks just as good. He has to be careful though because he doesn’t want to hurt May’s feelings.

“So, what did you eat for lunch today?” May stabs a peapod with her fork and looks between Happy and Peter.

Happy glances at Peter, who is too busy stuffing his mouth with food, before he replies, “Sandwiches. He missed his favorite sandwich place down the street. Actually, it was really good.”

“Delmars,” May says, smiling at him. 

“Can I go to Ned’s on Friday?” Peter asks, scooping up another bite on his fork. “We want to do a movie marathon. Maybe see some of the movies we missed in the last five years.”

“I don’t know, Peter,” May says, setting her fork down. So far she hasn’t gotten a bite in. “We were going to start moving some of the larger things on Saturday. Isn’t there any other night you can watch movies with Ned?”

“You’re the one who wanted me to hang out with him,” Peter says. “You told me to call him. What if we moved the stuff a different day?”

“I work every single day this week except for Saturday and Sunday,” she says. “You and Ned can have a sleepover any day of the week. Besides, Happy has it all worked out with a guy he knows at SI who is going to bring a truck over for us. It would be really rude to cancel on him.”

Peter knows this argument is stupid. May is right. He could easily send Ned a text asking him to change the day to Thursday, but he feels like he should get his way on something. He hasn’t had a lot of choices about a lot of things lately. It would be nice to have something as small as a choice on what day he’s going to Ned’s. Even if it really doesn’t matter. “Yeah, but Ned said that’s when I can come over,” Peter says, stirring around his food on his plate. “And I didn’t think it was a good idea for him to come here because this place is kind of a mess.” 

“Okay, okay, point made,” May says and takes her first bite. She chews for a while and then says, “How about Happy and I will get started on Saturday morning, and then you and Ned can come help us around noon? We’ll order pizza for lunch.”

“That works.” Peter shovels a bite into his mouth. “This is really good, by the way. Thanks, Happy.”

Happy sets down his glass and gives him the smallest smile, but it’s genuine. “You’re welcome, kid.”

~*~

Peter spends the rest of the week getting ready for the move, reading his summer reading books, and of course, texting Mr Stark. May is at work during the day, and Happy does a lot of running around for Stark Industries, so Peter is left on his own for a big chunk of the day. Part of him wonders why he couldn’t just stay at the lake house, but the other part of him kind of gets it because when May is home, she makes such an effort to spend time with him and do fun things that he enjoys, his anger over the situation melts away a little. So by the time he goes to Ned’s house on Friday afternoon, he’s doing okay.

Ned hugs him immediately when he steps through the door. When he pulls back to look at Peter, his expression is a bit confused. “Wow,” he says, breaking into a small smile. “You look way better than you have in a long time. Did you put on some weight?”

Peter looks down at himself. “Uh, yeah. I guess I have.” He hasn’t really been paying attention, but his clothes are no longer hanging on him. “How is your summer going?”

Ned looks determined and grabs Peter by the sleeve, dragging him towards his room. “Dude,” he says when he closes the door and points to his bed, indicating that Peter should sit down. “You can’t tell me you have big news to tell me in person and then ask me how I am. No one cares how I am. I want to hear about your news.”

“I care,” Peter says, looking a little hurt, but sitting down anyway. He doesn’t remember calling it big news. In fact, he’s pretty sure he didn’t say those words at all, but he guesses it doesn’t really matter, so he takes in a breath and prepares to tell his best friend part of what’s been going on in his life.

“So…” he says, looking away from Ned because it’s a little weird. “I found out while I was away that May is dating Happy.” When he looks back up at Ned, Ned is still standing in front of his door, blinking at him.

“And why couldn’t you send that in a text? Or tell me over the phone? Happy’s cool, right? And Mr Stark really trusted him, so he’s got to be a decent guy. Right?”

“First sit down. You’re making me nervous,” Peter says, waiting until Ned takes a seat at his desk chair. “So, it’s probably a little more serious than dating? I shouldn’t have used that word. They’re like… a couple. And May told me a week or so ago that we’re moving in with him.”

“What?” Ned’s eyes are huge. “Where does he live?”

Peter closes his mouth because he actually never asked where Happy lived. “May says it’s not that far, but I’ve never actually been there. Though, if you want to see it you can come with me tomorrow. We’re moving stuff, and May wanted to know if you would help. She says we gotta be there by lunch time though, so I guess we can’t stay up too late.”

“Dude!” Ned’s eyes are huge. “This is happening tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Peter says, looking down at his hands. “I would have told you sooner, but I didn't really want to talk about it over the phone.” Truthfully, he didn't really want to talk about it at all, but he knew he'd have to tell Ned eventually. “It's not really my favorite topic, but I guess you should know,” he adds.

“I think I can go,” Ned says, smiling at him. “I'll make sure though when my parents get back later tonight. Hey, Peter?”

Peter looks up at him.

“Happy's like, not gonna be your dad or anything, is he?”

“No,” Peter answers immediately. It's like the answer just comes out of him without any thought whatsoever. He already has a dad, essentially, but he can't talk to Ned about that. “Um, I mean no. He'll be more like an uncle, I guess. And on the plus side, he's a pretty decent cook. May hasn't been cooking at all.”

Ned smiles and nods. “So that's why you put on some weight. Eating actual food for a change. That's probably a good thing.”

Peter smiles even though Ned is completely wrong. Even before everything happened, he was just fine eating his aunt's food. He didn't completely love it, but he ate it. His recent weight loss was definitely not due to the lack of quality food. But he doesn't really want to talk to Ned or anyone about that really, so he pretends that Ned is right. “Yeah, that's definitely one of the positives.”

“You're doing better,” Ned says after a moment. He gets up from his chair and grabs the remote that's laying on the floor in front of the TV. “I noticed right away, but even more so now. Not gonna lie. I've been really worried about you since we've been back. I'm glad you're doing a little better.”

“Thanks,” Peter mumbles, scooting over on the bed and leaning back against the wall. He really wants to tell Ned the truth, but he knows he can't, so he keeps his mouth shut and looks forward to starting movies instead. “I guess it's starting to get better,” he says because it's the truth. Things are getting better—it's just not for the reasons Ned thinks. Of course he's better, but that's because he's no longer grieving at all. 

“I'm really glad you're doing okay,” Ned says. “Oh, I forgot about the snacks. I'll be right back, okay? Think about what you want to eat later. My mom says we can order whatever we want! Be right back!” He ducks out of the room and then Peter is alone.

Things feel really normal at Ned's, and Peter is able to breathe easily. He's actually doing okay at home with Happy being there, considering, but it's not his normal. He smiles and pulls out his spider device.

**Peter: I'm at Ned's now! He's getting snacks and then we're going to watch a bunch of movies. I'll let you know what I think about them later. I guess several of them are from the five years we missed. Maybe if I find some good ones, we can watch them together next time I come to see you. I made it through one week here, can you believe it?**

**Mr Stark: I can believe it because you're strong, Pete. And I'll see you in a week. Definitely about the movies. Can't wait.**

**Peter: Do you know how long I can stay this time? Did Pepper say anything to you about it? I'm afraid to ask May.**

**Mr Stark: I was assuming you'd stay for two weeks like last time. I can ask Pepper if you want. You know I'd keep you for the rest of the summer if I could.**

**Peter: I know. I miss you. Gotta go Ned's coming back**

The door opens and Peter hastily shoves the device back into his pocket. 

Ned makes his way to the bed and flops down. He's holding an armful of snacks, but he somehow passes Peter a coke and then deposits the rest of the snacks on the mattress between them before opening a bag of chips. “You pick the first movie!”


	15. All We Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Peter,” Ned says. “This place is amazing. I know you’re feeling kind of unsure about the whole Happy thing, but… this place is really awesome. And it’s not that far. You’ll still be coming to school next year, right? And my mom says you can stay over whenever you want. Really not all that much is going to change. Happy was already driving you to and from school most of the time anyway.”
> 
> “Yeah, I’m coming back to school. Don’t worry.” He takes in a breath, letting it out slowly. “And you’re right. This is going to be okay. I’m just a little stressed out lately, that’s all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!!! I'm going on vacation where I may not have much internet access, so I thought I'd post this chapter before I left. Good news is that I might have a fair amount of writing time when I'm gone, so I hope to get quite a bit done on this story. Hopefully I'll have 16 ready for you next week!! This story may be 20-22 chapters long... I'm not exactly sure. And I'm still contemplating a sequel. I really need to finish my other long fic as well. And then there're my bingo prompts. And now there are halloween prompts on tumblr. And I LOOOOVE halloween. So much writing to do and not enough time! LOL
> 
> Thank you all for your support, kudos, comments, etc. You're all amazing!! I might not get to replying to comments before I leave (I have a lot of stuff to do, packing etc) but I will by next week for sure. Thank you again! <3

Chapter 15

Happy picks up Peter and Ned at Ned's house the next day. They make it out of the house fifteen minutes after twelve, and then Happy drives them to his apartment which is definitely outside of Queens, but not too far, just like May had promised in one of their earlier conversations about it. Peter feels a little uneasy about it as they pull into the underground parking ramp. They get out and he lags a little behind Happy and Ned who are making a quick path to the elevator.

Peter can see how nice this apartment building is already, and he feels a little bad for giving May a hard time about it. It's clearly safer, too, and that's really important for his aunt. If at any time, anyone were to find out his identity, it would put May in danger. And he wants her to be safe. This place is pretty secure, as far as Peter can tell, and with Happy there, there is little chance anyone is getting to May. 

But those thoughts don't stop his nerves while they ride up in the elevator. Ned is asking Happy a million questions about the building, and Happy is getting more annoyed with each question. When his eyes meet Peter's, the expression on his face is one of long suffering. Peter guesses he can only handle one inquisitive teen at a time. 

'This way,” Happy says when they step out on the twenty first floor. He leads them a little ways down the hall where a door is already propped open. 

Peter is the last to look inside. He stands in the doorway, poking his head inside and looking around with trepidation. It's nice. It's really nice. Happy must not have had that much stuff, because many of their things are taking up the space already, but when Peter looks past them, he sees cool gray walls, a white brick fireplace, and sleek slate colored furniture. The floor plan is open, and the kitchen matches. The appliances are stainless steel, and the counters are made from gray and white marble. It feels a little how the compound used to feel to Peter, only on a smaller scale. It's really nice, but it's also less like a home to him.

“You can come in,” May's voice rings out. She's standing in the living room beside what appears to be a hallway. “Pizza should be here any second. I just called to see what was going on because they were taking forever. Shoes off, boys!”

Ned quickly shucks off his shoes. “Wow, May! This is amazing! Mr Happy, your apartment is awesome!”

Happy looks at Peter like he's really tired. “Come in and close the door, Peter. You probably want to check out your room while you're waiting for the pizza to get here.”

Peter finally comes inside and takes off his shoes, nudging them aside with his socked foot, and then closing the door with a soft click. 

“Come on, Peter! Ned!” May says, motioning that they should follow her. 

Peter drags his feet a little over the shiny hardwood floor, but he makes it there in what seems like no time, and then Ned is tugging on his sleeve, pulling him a little bit in the direction May has turned down the hallway. Ned is clearly excited, and as nervous as Peter is, he's a little excited too. It's been a long time since he's had a new room. And he's never once had a workshop before.

At the end of the hallway, May shows them a small bathroom that is now Peter's, and then she pushes open the door to his new room.

Happy wasn’t lying, Peter thinks while he cautiously steps through the threshold. It’s definitely bigger than his old room. And to his surprise, his bed and other furniture is already set up. He turns to his aunt. “I thought Ned and I were going to help move stuff in. Half my stuff is already here.”

May smiles from her spot where she’s leaning against the door frame. “You remember I was telling you about that guy from SI who was going to help us with the truck? He had a couple of his coworkers over to help. We got all the big stuff in really quickly that way. Now all that’s left is the smaller things. The truck is parked in the underground lot. Once we’re done with lunch, you and Ned can help get the boxes and stuff up here. How’s that sound?”

“Easier than I thought it would be!” Ned answers for Peter. He’s standing by the window and looking out at the view. “This is amazing, by the way. Peter, I’m totally jealous. You can see the whole city through your window.”

Peter walks over and looks out as well. Ned isn’t lying. He can see almost everything. It’s beautiful. “I guess I won’t be sneaking in and out the window anymore. That’s going to be awkward.”

May walks over and pats his back. “We’ll figure something out. Don’t worry.”

He would normally be making a bigger deal out of that, but honestly, right now Spider-man isn’t his biggest priority. “I’ll worry about it later,” he says, walking away from them and to the closet. He opens the door to reveal the biggest closet he’s ever had. It’s like the size of a small room. “Wow,” he says. “I could put my workshop in here it’s so big.”

“We thought maybe on the side opposite from your bed,” May says, peeking her head in. “You can put your clothes in here, of course, and then maybe a little extra storage space for whatever you want.”

Peter just looks around at the space, a little in awe. If he’s going to fill up this closet, he might have to let Pepper take him shopping more often. Then again, he definitely doesn’t want that, either. “I’ll figure something out,” he says.

May’s phone rings. “Oh, that must be the pizza. I’ll go grab it. Peter, you and Ned can plan where you’re going to put stuff while you’re waiting.”

Once she ducks out of the room and Peter walks back into the main area, he and Ned are just staring at each other.

“Peter,” Ned says. “This place is amazing. I know you’re feeling kind of unsure about the whole Happy thing, but… this place is really awesome. And it’s not that far. You’ll still be coming to school next year, right? And my mom says you can stay over whenever you want. Really not all that much is going to change. Happy was already driving you to and from school most of the time anyway.”

“Yeah, I’m coming back to school. Don’t worry.” He takes in a breath, letting it out slowly. “And you’re right. This is going to be okay. I’m just a little stressed out lately, that’s all.”

“It’s been a long few months,” Ned says. “But things will get better. I mean, you don’t have to worry about your aunt paying the rent or stuff like that anymore. So at least there’s that.”

“That’s true…” Peter says slowly. He walks over to his dresser and picks it up easily, moving it a few feet closer to one of the windows. “Do you think I should leave the bed where it is?”

“Yeah, I like it there. Once you get more stuff in here, it’ll be easier to decide.”

“Peter! Ned!” May calls from the living room. “Pizza is here! Come and eat!”

They rush out of the bedroom, practically pushing each other to make it down the hall and through the living room to where the kitchen is. Peter feels truly happy for the first time since he left the lake house while they eat pizza and pick on each other. Having Ned there makes it easier, for one, and then for another thing, he’s starting to get used to the idea of Happy being there. He doesn’t feel as weird about it as he did just a week ago.

That night when he crawls into bed in his new room, surrounded by all his things from home, he texts Mr Stark about everything that happened that day, and then he falls asleep easily. In one week, he’ll be going back to the lake house. He can’t wait.

~*~

The next day, May takes him shopping to buy a few things to fill up the extra space in his room as well as to pick out a new desk for his workshop. He tells her the old one will work just fine, but she insists that he use that one for his school work and then says that she’ll have a little extra money because they moved in with Happy, so she can afford it. She really wants him to have it, so he finally agrees.

At the furniture store, Peter finds the most inexpensive desk. “This one is perfect,” he says, putting his hand on the smooth surface. It’s small but sturdy. He doesn’t need anything fancy.

May looks at it before turning away and looking at a few other, slightly bigger ones. “What about this one?” She stops at an oak desk that’s about a third bigger than the one he picked out. “I think it will fit in your room better. Plus, you can have more working space.”

Peter presses his lips into a line. He’s not used to May trying to get him nicer things. They usually mutually agree on the cheapest option that will do the trick. This is something different. “I feel like I’m shopping with Pepper again,” he mutters.

“Oh, yeah,” May says, leaning against the desk. “You never really told me about that. How was it?”

“Awkward,” Peter says. “Everyone knows who Pepper is, and there was this kid there asking me why I was with her. Then he found me and Morgan while we were eating lunch and Pepper had gone into a store by herself. He was really rude, and I guess I was focusing on him, because Morgan got up from the table and walked away. I didn’t notice until it was too late.”

May’s mouth drops open. “What? Did you find her right away?”

“Well, Pepper called security, and I went looking for her. Thankfully I found her. I felt so awful. Next time I’m out with her, she’s going to be sitting on my shoulders the entire time. I will never lose her again.”

“It’s not your fault, Peter. That boy shouldn’t have been harassing you. I’m sure Pepper understood.”

“She did,” Peter says, looking down at the price tag of the desk he had picked out. “I still felt really bad.”

“I’m glad everything was okay. And you don’t have to watch Morgan now, so tell me. This desk—” she gestures towards the oak one she had been leaning against, “--or this one,” she says, pointing to the one at her right. It’s also oak, but is a little more ornate. It’s also an extra fifty dollars over the other one. 

“I guess that one,” Peter says, pointing to the simpler and cheaper one. “If you’re sure it’s alright.” He’s feeling a little uneasy but isn’t sure if it’s about the price tag or telling May about what happened with losing Morgan at the mall. He’d feel a whole lot better if they were back at Happy’s apartment or even better--if he were back at the lake house. So he rushes May through the rest of the shopping, only picking out a few extra things he needs for his new room. 

May looks at him like he should maybe slow down, but Peter says they can go again another day. The look they share says that they’re not sure when that other day will be, and there’s a lot to discuss about how long he’ll be staying at the lake house and other things, but Peter avoids that conversation like the plague. 

“So,” May says in the car while they’re driving back to Happy’s apartment. The backseat is filled with everything they bought except for the desk, which will be delivered in a few days. “I was thinking,” she goes on, “why don’t we have a movie night tonight? It’s been forever since we’ve been able to sit down and watch movies. And there are a few that came out in the last five years that I really think you’d like. What do you say?”

He turns to look at her. “Just the two of us?”

There’s a pause, and he knows the answer. 

“Actually,” she says the word slowly, “I thought it would be nice to invite Happy. Maybe we could order chinese and eat at the coffee table… we can take turns picking movies.”

Peter stares out the front window and thinks about how to respond. To him, it sounds a lot like what they used to do when Ben was alive. But then again, he also had lots of movie nights with Mr Stark before everything happened, and then with Mr Stark’s family at the lake house in those two awesome weeks he spent there. So maybe inviting Happy wouldn’t be the end of the world. Having movie night was a normal thing, after all. “Okay,” he agrees. “But only if I can pick the first movie.”

“Okay, fine,” she says, grinning at him. “They don’t all have to be new movies. Only if you want.”

The mood is a bit lighter after their agreement over movie night. Peter’s uneasiness is fading a little while he hangs out on the couch and pretends to text Ned when he’s really texting Mr Stark from his spider device. 

**Peter: Movie night tonight with May and Happy. What kind of movie do you think Happy will pick for his choice?**

**Mr Stark: Probably something British. He likes that stuff.**

**Peter: Sounds boring. I’ll pick something with a lot of action to balance it out. What are you up to?**

**Mr Stark: Pretty much the same thing. Movies, but Morgan's pick, as usual.**

**Peter: Hey Morgan has some solid movie choices. Give her a little credit.**

**Peter: I miss you guys. I can’t wait to come back. One week!!!! This week has been long but short at the same time. I hope this next week goes fast**

**Mr Stark: We miss you too. Morgan talks about you all the time. She wants her big brother back home. Pepper misses you, and of course I miss you like crazy. Wish you could be here, kid. Pretty soon you’ll be back in the car with Happy and driving here. Just hang in there. We all love you.**

**Peter: I love you too. It’ll be better when you can come here too. Then it won’t seem like it’s so long until I can see you again. Right?**

**Mr Stark: Right. We’ll get through this. Morgan’s pestering me about the movie. Talk to you later, Pete. Love you.**

**Peter: ♡ ♡ ♡!!!!**

Just as Peter is sliding the device into his pocket, Happy approaches the coffee table with a giant bag of chinese food and begins to set the containers down. “I hope you’re hungry, kid.”

Peter smiles. “Starving. Where’s May?”

The small smile that had been on Happy’s face a moment ago, falls. “She got a call. From work. She stepped into the bedroom to take it.”

Peter’s face drops as well. He knows what this means. It’s what it has always meant. They will have all these plans, and then work calls, and May has to leave. She won’t ever turn work down. They need the money. But isn’t that why they moved in with Happy in the first place? Maybe she’ll say no this time. 

“I’ll go grab some sodas,” Peter says and jumps off the couch, making his way towards the kitchen. He doesn’t want to start eating until May joins them. He grabs three cans of soda out of the fridge, but when he turns around, May is standing there. He can tell by the look on her face that it’s not good news.

“I’m sorry, Peter,” she says, reaching out to put her hand on his arm. “But I’ve gotta go into work. You and Happy can still watch movies though. Maybe we can do it again next weekend? Maybe Ned can come. Why don’t you ask him over Friday night or Saturday night?”

His head is spinning. He’s not even over tonight and she’s already talking about next weekend. To be one hundred percent honest, the only reason he’s looking forward to next weekend is because on Sunday he gets to go back to the lake house. The next thing he knows, there are tears in his eyes, and he hates it. “You said you wanted me to be here with you. You said you missed me. I could be having movie night with Mr Stark right now, and I don’t even care if it’s Morgan’s pick every time. At least they’re there!”

May looks a little taken aback, and she drops her hand from his arm. “Peter,” she says again, her voice a little shaky. “You know I have to work. This is how it’s always been. I’m not trying to ditch you. Look, why don’t you and Happy have a mini movie night tonight, eat up that chinese food, and then we can just start earlier tomorrow. It’s just putting it off a day.”

He sets the sodas on the counter so he can wipe at his face. He hates that he started crying. He thought he had been doing really well lately, but looks like it just took one little thing to push him over the edge. “I guess,” he mutters, picking the cans back up, walking around May and back toward the living room. At least there’s chinese food. He’s still hungry.

“I don’t have to leave for an hour,” May says, following after him. “Let’s start the first movie and then eat together. Okay?”

Peter responds by handing her a paper plate and then one to Happy, who has been sitting on the couch silent the whole time. Peter doesn’t look at either of them while they’re eating, and the beginning of Star Wars begins playing. He’s still kind of mad. He knows that May has to work and with the nature of her job, she sometimes gets called in at the last minute. He _knows_ that. It’s just that as much as he loves his aunt, he feels like Mr Stark really needs him. And honestly, he needs Mr Stark. His heart still hurts a lot, and the two weeks and two days he spent at the lake house only just started to heal it, kind of in a similar way that Mr Stark was beginning to heal, too. This would all be so much easier if he wasn’t so worried and on edge about it all the time.

When May has to leave for work, he lets her kiss the side of his face, and he even hugs her back, but he’s still feeling sad. It’s stupid. He shouldn’t really be mad at her for doing her job. He just wants to be a little selfish. So when she leaves the apartment, and it’s just him and Happy sitting on the couch, Peter can’t help but sigh. 

“You know,” Happy says after a moment. “We can just pause this and finish tomorrow if you want. I’m not going to force you to watch movies with me.”

“It’s okay,” Peter says, grabbing a handful of M&Ms from the dish on the coffee table. “I haven’t seen this since I’ve been back, so that’s what--years? We might as well watch it.”

“I’ve seen it so many times I’ve lost count.”

Peter pauses in chewing on his M&Ms to look at Happy. “You have? Is this your favorite movie too? Mr Stark says you like British stuff.”

Happy leans back into the cushions and gives him a half smile. “He would say that. But no, it’s not my favorite. It’s just that your aunt watched it all the time when you were gone. She said she felt like you were here if it was playing.”

Peter almost chokes on his M&Ms, but he gets it together before that happens and manages to swallow them down. “She did?” It strikes him because that’s exactly what they used to do right after Ben died. They played his favorite movies and shows, and it did make things a little easier. He doesn’t know why, maybe because it doesn’t really feel like he was gone all that long, but it surprises him a little that she did the same thing for him. 

“She really missed you, kid,” Happy says. “You’re back now, and that’s great, but at the time, she didn’t know if you ever would be coming back. As the years went on, the more it felt like the people who had disappeared were gone forever. It was really hard for her.”

Peter sniffs. He hasn’t given his aunt enough credit. She’s done so much for him and still, she only wants what’s best. She doesn’t even have to let him go visit Mr Stark, but she does. Maybe he should try a little harder while he’s in the city. 

“Can we make some popcorn?” he asks Happy.

“You’re still hungry after all that food?” Happy asks, but he makes a move like he might get up if he gets the right answer. “You ate a ton, kid.”

“You can’t have a movie without popcorn,” Peter says reaching for the M&Ms again. “That’s movie night 101. I’m surprised you didn’t know that.”


	16. Earthquake Weather

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Had to step out. I’ll be back later. I love you._  
>  -Tony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! <3 I updated this fic to have a total of 19 chapters... and that's because I finished! I did decide to write a sequel for this book, but it probably won't be quite as long as this one, we'll see. I'm going to work on finishing my other long fic now, but I will be posting the last few chapters to this one on a regular basis. 
> 
> ALSO... I added this fic to a series called "Weight of it All" so if you are interested in reading the sequel, don't forget to subscribe to the series :D!
> 
> Who is ready for nanowrimo?? If anyone else is participating, feel free to add me as your writing buddy. I will add you back! Here's my profile page: [irishgirl982](https://nanowrimo.org/participants/irishgirl982)
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> Thanks again for your comments and kudos and bookmarks! I love you all! <3

By the end of the week, Peter has not only caught up a little more on movies he’s missed in the last five years, but he’s also calmed down a bit. It’s been hard for him to understand how his aunt feels because he’s been so focused on Mr Stark—first losing him, and then getting him back, and then being pulled away from him. It’s been traumatic. But when Happy had mentioned that May used to cope with Peter’s own disappearance by watching Star Wars on repeat, it all sort of clicked. 

Of course, May missed Peter just how Peter missed Mr Stark. And Peter had been gone a lot longer. So Peter does his best to be patient throughout the week. He doesn’t talk about going back to the lake house until Ned comes over to spend the night that weekend, and then he gushes about it (leaving out confidential details, that is) until Ned has to change subjects. They watch movies into the night, and sleep half the day on Saturday. And then May takes them to the mall so they can look at nerdy things in windows, play some games in the arcade, and eat cheeseburgers to their hearts’ content.

It’s been a pretty good week, so when Peter wakes up on Sunday morning, he expects to be so excited to get to the lake house that he can’t stand it. And he is—only something feels off, and he’s not sure what it is. He packs and repacks his bags several times looking for things he’s missed and trying to think of what it is that he could have possibly forgotten. He checks in with May and even Happy to make sure everything is alright, and each time, everything is perfectly in place for the trip. 

At ten, Happy says that he has a short errand to run, but he’ll be back in an hour to pick Peter up for the long ride to the lake house. He kisses May before he leaves, and Peter doesn’t even flinch.

Instead, his nerves won’t stop bouncing. 

“Are you okay?” May asks, poking her head around from the kitchen. “I can practically hear you buzzing from here.”

“Yeah, I don’t know why I’m so nervous,” he says, getting up from where he’s going through his backpack one more time at the couch and bringing it into the kitchen. “I seriously cannot wait to see Mr Stark again. Like, he’s probably made all kinds of crazy progress in his physical therapy, and he’s probably wearing the arm all the time now. He’s probably going to have some amazing project for us to work on while I’m there, and then we’re going to stay up late and eat junk food and watch movies. And then I’ll get to play with Morgan and hopefully not ever go shopping with Pepper again—”

“Peter,” May says, smiling at him fondly. “I believe you when you say you’re excited. But why do you think you’re nervous? Do you have anything to be nervous about?”

He falls down into a chair at the kitchen table and sighs, looking up at her and lowering his voice, “Those people who are after Mr Stark and the stones. I’m constantly afraid that they’ll figure out where he is. I mean, I know they weren’t supposed to tell us, and I’m glad they did, but in a way, we’re kind of a security risk. SHIELD doesn’t know about us, right? What if they figure out where Mr Stark is just because of me? I would never forgive myself if that happened.”

She puts down the plate she’s drying. “Tony made that decision on his own, and I’m sure he takes full responsibility for it. He wouldn’t like it if you put that on yourself. I know that, one hundred percent, so stop worrying about it. And you’ll be back there in a few hours, and everything is going to be just fine. You can protect him to your heart’s content for two full weeks.”

There it is. The two weeks again. This is the subject he’s been trying to avoid. “Actually,” he says, his voice sounding a little higher than usual. “I was thinking maybe I could stay a little longer this time. You know, since we’re all moved and everything?”

May looks defeated, and Peter regrets even asking. It takes her a while to say anything. “I think it’s fair if you spend two weeks here and two weeks there. If something happens where you need to stay longer in one place over the other, then we can talk about it then. But you need to stop asking me, Peter. I love you, and I want you to be home with me sometimes, too.”

He sighs, looking away from her. “I know. I’m sorry. I just really don’t want anything bad to happen to Mr Stark.” 

She hooks her arm around him and pulls him in for a tight hug. “I know, sweetie. But he’s going to be okay. He has lots of people making sure he’s well protected. I know you want to take charge of that, but a literal government agency is on it. So you don’t have to worry so much. Okay?”

He sniffs. “Uh huh.” He wishes he could believe her. He knows what she says is true, after all, but for some reason, it doesn’t _feel_ that way. 

They’re still hugging when Peter’s phone buzzes in his pocket and he pulls away to fish it out. “It’s Happy,” he says, looking at the screen while May reads over his shoulder.

**Happy: Car broke down, so I picked up another. It’s a black Lexus. Parked out front waiting for you.**

“Huh,” May said, squeezing Peter’s shoulder. “He just had that thing serviced. I wonder what’s wrong with it?”

Peter sends a quick reply that he’ll be down in a minute, and then rushes to grab his backpack from the kitchen table and then the bag with his clothes and other things in it from the living room. He’s so in a hurry to get to the lake house, that he almost forgets to kiss May goodbye. 

“I’m going to miss you,” she says, her voice a little tearful, when he finally stops to put his arms back around her. “And so will Happy, even if he doesn’t say it out loud. Give everyone a hug for me, okay? And thank Tony and Pepper for taking such good care of you.”

“I will,” Peter promises. “Love you, May. I’ll see you in two weeks, I guess?”

She pulls away and kisses his forehead. “Yep. Two weeks. Now get going. Tell Happy not to drive too fast!”

Peter grins and wishes her one more goodbye before taking off with his things and making his way down the stairs. The black Lexus parked outside the apartment doesn’t look all that different from the Audi that Happy usually drives. It’s about the same size, and the windows are tinted so dark that he can never see anything through them. So he doesn’t think about it a second longer before he opens the back door and tosses his things into the backseat. 

~*~

When Happy pulls up to his apartment complex, he’s already tired from running errands for Pepper. She’s back at the lake house, of course, and wanted him to grab some things from SI so she can work on them there before she’s due for some important meetings at the end of the current week. He doesn’t really want to make the long drive to the lake house, but there’s no way in hell he’ll tell Peter that. That kid has been wanting to go back there since the second he got in the car two weeks ago. So Happy made sure to stop for some much needed coffee, which is why he’s running a few minutes late.

**Happy: Out front waiting for you. Kiss your aunt and get down here.**

He waits one minute, then two. At the five minute mark, he calls Peter, but it goes straight to voicemail, which is very strange because Peter never has his phone off. He sometimes doesn’t answer it when he’s busy doing super hero stuff, but it’s never off. So he immediately calls May.

“Hey,” she says, answering the phone on the first ring. “Don’t tell me he forgot something.”

“What?” he says, looking at the door of the building, hoping Peter will come out any second. “We haven’t even left yet. Is he on his way down?”

There’s what feels like a really long pause. “Happy,” she finally says. “He left fifteen minutes ago. Did you or did you not send him a text saying your car broke down so you had a different car?”

“No!” he cries. “I didn’t! My car didn’t break down! I literally just got here. I sent him a text, and he didn’t answer. So I called him, and it went straight to voicemail. What is going on?”

“Oh God, oh God, oh God,” May says, her voice shaky. “You gotta find him. I don’t know who it was who sent that text, but it said you had a black Lexus. Do you know who it could be? You have to find him, Happy. You have to!”

“Okay, take some breaths,” he tells her as he unbuckles his seatbelt. “I’m going to come up there, and we’re going to figure something out. But in the meantime, try not to panic. Peter is stronger than almost anyone on this planet, and he’s probably smarter than them too. He’s going to be okay. I promise. I’ll make sure of it.”

By the time he gets back to his apartment, May is a mess, and she practically collapses into him. He spends a short amount of time comforting her before they try Peter’s phone again, and then go downstairs to look for anything that could have transpired on the street. If it weren’t for the weird text message that Happy had apparently sent Peter earlier, he would have thought that maybe Peter, sans suit, had spotted some crime and ran off to help. But given the text message—which Happy one hundred percent did not send—that probably wasn’t the case. 

Defeated, and no obvious clues found on the street outside the apartment building, they head back upstairs to discuss the next steps. Happy attempts to trace Peter’s phone, which clearly has been turned off and possibly destroyed because Tony had put a feature on it that would track it even though it had been turned off, they come to the conclusion that they’re going to have to call in some reinforcements. 

“If we call Pepper,” Happy says from where he’s seated at the kitchen table, watching May pace back and forth. “Then we’re going to possibly involve Tony. Honestly, I don’t think he’s well enough for this yet, and if it involves Peter, I know he’s going to go all out.”

May is wiping at the tears on her face. “You’re right. And when that happens, he doesn’t always think clearly. So who should we call?”

Happy sighs and pulls up a contact on his phone. Tony isn’t going to like it, but it’s their best shot.

~*~

Tony is sitting on the porch with an iced tea in his hand while he watches Morgan ride back and forth across the sidewalk on her little bike with training wheels. She’s pedaling as fast as she can before lifting her hands off the handlebars.

“Daddy! Look at me!” she cries.

Tony nearly spills his iced tea before he can set it down to stand up and lean over the railing. “Hands on the handlebars!” he yells, feeling unnerved. He already has to worry about Peter falling off of buildings, and now Morgan is doing stunts. They’re definitely going to be the end of him.

The second she puts her hands back on the handlebars, regaining better control of her bicycle, his spider device buzzes in his back pocket. Since Rhodey is out picking up some groceries, and Pepper is taking a much needed nap, he digs it out of his pocket and smiles when he sees Peter’s name on the screen.

And then his world falls apart. 

Again.

**Peter: Hello. We have your kid. We’ll exchange him for the stones. Bring all six stones to the old Catskill Hudson bank in Rock Hill, and you can have him back. Come alone. No Avengers, no cops, no FBI. Just you, or we can’t be held responsible for our actions. Text us on this device when you arrive.**

Tony nearly drops the phone because his fingers have gone numb. It takes him a full minute or maybe longer before he realizes Morgan is calling for him. All of the blood has rushed out of his head, and he falls back down into his chair, his legs unable to hold him any longer.

“Daddy! Daddy!” Morgan says, rushing up the stairs of the porch and grabbing onto his knees. “If you make me a suit, maybe then can I ride my bike with no hands?”

He doesn’t even process what she’s saying. “Morgan,” he says, pushing himself up. “I need your help with something.” He doesn’t wait for a response, and grabs her hand, pulling her inside the house and into the kitchen. Pepper keeps a notepad attached to the fridge with a magnet, and he pulls it off. There’s a little pen attached to the top with a piece of velcro, so he pulls that off and then motions that Morgan should follow him to the table, where they sit down. 

“Are you going to write a letter?” she asks, standing up on the chair and leaning over the notepad.

For a second, Tony considers having Morgan write the note, but then he figures a four year old will probably be just as slow as him writing with his left hand, so he abandons the idea. “A very short letter,” he says, trying his best to smile at her like nothing is wrong. “I need you to give it to Mommy.”

“Can’t you give it to Mommy?” she asks, looking up at him with trusting eyes. “You’re getting really good at stairs, Daddy. I think you can make it up there on your own.”

“Probably, but you’re so much better at it,” he says, turning back to the notepad and getting to work. Carefully, he writes out a short note.

_Had to step out. I’ll be back later. I love you.  
-Tony_

He knows Pepper is going to be furious, but he can’t tell her the real reason, and he has to get Peter back no matter what.

“Okay,” he says, folding the note and handing it to Morgan. “I have a very important mission for you. First, I want you to go to your room and play there for fifteen minutes. Here, let me set your watch.” He takes her wrist and sets the little timer on the kiddie watch. “When the timer goes off, go into Mommy’s room, wake her up, and then give her the note. Do you think you can do that?”

“Of course, I can, Daddy.” She folds the note again and stuffs it into the little pocket on the front of her shirt. “But what are you going to do?”

“I have something very important to do,” he tells her, brushing her hair away from her face and kissing her forehead. “But I’ll be back soon. Hopefully tonight. You can tell Mommy that if she asks.”

She looks a little scared. “But what about Petey? Isn’t he supposed to be here later? He’s going to be sad if he gets here and you’re not here.”

“I’ll try to be back as soon as possible,” he says, holding back the tears from his voice and pulling her into a hug. “Don’t worry about me. I love you, okay? Now go play in your room for fifteen minutes. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“I love you, too,” she says, a little sadly. “Are you sure I can’t go with?”

He kisses the top of her head and then releases her. “No, it’s for grown ups only. Now go on. Remember your mission to give the note to Mommy when your timer goes off.”

“I’ll remember!” she says, instantly brightening at the word, ‘mission.’

He follows her to the living room and watches her make her way up the steps. And then with a little wave and a smile, she disappears around the corner toward the direction of her room. It’s then that his panic attempts to swallow him whole.

But he doesn’t have time. He needs to make sure Peter’s okay and get him away from his captors. Pepper is going to be pissed, yes, but he can make it up to her later. Right now, Peter is first priority. So he wastes no time in grabbing the nanobot vest and quickly walks out to the garage. He pulls the small safe out from the wall to reveal a smaller, slimmer safe, and presses his thumb into the sensor until it pops open. Inside, he’s kept a duplicate of the last suit he made before the final battle with Thanos. The second he was well enough to get out to the garage, he made sure to hide it. At the time, he wasn’t sure what SHIELD was plotting, and he needed to make sure no one tried to remove the only protection he had. Okay, so yeah, the invisible shield over his property is helpful, he has to admit, and up until then no one has found him. It’s honestly his own damn fault. Everything is. He maybe shouldn’t have given Peter that device. Then again, maybe this would have happened anyway, and then he’d have no way to know about it. 

It’s a scary thought. 

He races to fix the code in his nanobot suit so that it will work with his new arm. At the ten minute mark, he finishes, thank God, because Morgan will be waking Pepper up any minute, and he has to get out of there.

He sends off a quick text to the captors saying he’ll be there in thirty minutes and then activates his suit. The nanobot pieces cover him from head to toe, falling seamlessly over his prosthetic arm. It feels strange—like a dream. Or maybe a nightmare. The last time he was wearing a suit like this, he almost died. This time, he’s going to save Peter and nothing more. 

Everything is going to be just fine.

“Welcome back, boss,” FRIDAY says once his helmet snaps shut. “It’s been exactly three months and six days since you’ve last been online. When they disabled me shortly after that, I was a little concerned. Not to mention, it appears that you are now missing your entire right arm.”

“No worries, FRIDAY,” Tony says, a small smile curving one side of his mouth. “All is well. But we do have a mission. Set the GPS for what used to be Catskill Hudson Bank in Rock Hill. And while we’re flying there, I need you to find some blueprints of the place. You’ll have to draw from my reserve server in the New York penthouse. The one here is blocked, and the one at the compound was destroyed.”

“Got it,” she says. “Drawing from the penthouse server. Okay, I’m now online.”

“Perfect,” Tony replies. “Let’s get out of here. We’ve got a kid to save.”


	17. Back Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He doesn’t know what he’s going to do if he actually does manage to get out. He doesn’t know if there are traps set up for him on the other side of the door. All he knows is that he has to try because he can’t let Mr Stark get hurt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter, everyone! Thank you so much for your comments and kudos! <3 I love you guys!

Chapter 17

When Peter finally wakes up, it hurts to open his eyes, and not just because there’s a single bulb with no shade somewhere near him. He groans and rolls away from the light, his hands coming up to his face to cover his eyes. That’s when he realizes he has a lump on the back of his head. And it’s throbbing. He lets out a cry when his fingers find it, and then he strains to open his eyes. 

Something is definitely wrong, but he has no idea what it is.

And then, once he has his eyes slitted open, he realizes he doesn’t know where he is either. He’s not in his room at the apartment. He’s not even in his room at Happy’s apartment, nor is he at the lake house. Instead, he’s lying on a bare, lumpy cot that looks like it’s seen much better days, and he’s surrounded by cement walls. 

This might be a little more normal if he were chasing after some bad guys in Queens, but right now, he’s just Peter Parker, and as far as he can tell, he has nothing with him besides the clothes on his back. If only he had his webshooters, then maybe—

But he should have his phone. Then he can call for help. 

His arm reaches around, and his hand somehow gets into his back pocket, but to his horror, his phone is also missing. He rolls over and checks his other pocket. His spider device is gone as well. Well, great. Now what? 

He braces himself with his left elbow and slowly tries to raise up from the cot. There’s no way he’s going to get out of this cement dungeon if he can’t even sit up, much less stand. It’s then that he realizes his wrists are red and raw. Someone must have tied him up at some point, but he doesn’t have any recollection of that happening. He finally pushes himself up to a sitting position and then just sits there, blinking, and trying to think about what was the last thing he remembers. 

It was Sunday, and he was going back to the lake house. Only, clearly, he never got there. Or at least he doesn’t remember getting there. He does remember packing and feeling that something was wrong. He thought maybe he had forgotten to pack something, but now he thinks his spider sense was probably trying to warn him about something else. What good is a spider sense if he doesn’t know what to look out for? But his head hurts too badly to be frustrated, so he moves on. Happy was going to drive him to the lake house, right? And he got a text saying that Happy was there, so he went downstairs. Something must have happened around that time, because he doesn’t remember anything else. 

He sits quietly for a few minutes, trying to calm the pounding in his head but also listening to see if he can hear anything outside the cement room. It’s a little hard to hear over the pounding of blood in his ears, but he can’t hear a damned thing. It’s completely silent. Which means either he’s in some odd cement building in the middle of nowhere with no trees or wind or animals or bugs outside, or the walls are so thick that it’s completely blocking his super hearing. He’s willing to place a bet on the latter, so when he turns around on the cot and sees the round shape cut out in what appears to be a round door on hinges, he realizes he’s right.

It appears that he’s locked in a vault somewhere. And no doubt, a vault would have very thick walls. Possibly reinforced with something other than cement as well. Luckily, he’s able to stop a bus with his bare hands, so he thinks maybe he can break the lock on the door at least. Then again, there’s probably some sort of hidden camera there. He should probably let his healing factor work a little longer anyway. If he’s going to be breaking a vault lock, he needs to have all the strength he can muster.

He decides to lie back down so he can build up his energy better. He isn’t planning on falling asleep, but it happens, and the next thing he knows, he’s being startled awake by a loud thud, followed by the squeak of a hinge in desperate need of oil. His head is still pounding, but he pulls himself up to a sitting position and blinks at the door, even though the bare lightbulb is so bright, it’s almost blinding to his sensitive eyes.

And then the next thing he knows, a man is standing there in the doorway. Before Peter can react, the door swings closed, and they’re shut in there together. The man is frozen where he stands. He’s carrying a tray of food, but clearly he didn’t expect Peter to be awake, because he looks like a deer caught in the headlights. He’s dark complected with long, scraggly hair tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He’s dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants like he just got back from the gym or something. 

“You’re awake,” the man says. He has an accent, but Peter can’t discern what kind. “Boss said you’d be sleeping all day. I was just going to leave this tray here for you. If you don’t mind…”

“Are you my kidnapper?” Peter asks instead of addressing everything he’s said so far. 

“Who else would I be?” the man returns. “Please be on your best behavior. I’m guessing I’d have to knock you out to get the restraints back on you, and that wasn’t fun. I had to hit you in the back of the head pretty hard.

Peter looks down at his wrists. The red marks are almost completely gone, but they still feel a little sore. He guesses the reason they’re so sore is because they were using something more powerful than just regular metal restraints on him. Which also means that they probably know that he’s not a regular human. 

“But don’t worry,” the man goes on. “Stark is on his way. He sent us a message a few minutes ago saying that he would be here shortly. He’s going to exchange the stones for you.”

Peter suddenly feels like the room is spinning, and puts one hand to his head and the other on the edge of the cot to steady himself. Mr Stark is coming? But how? He’s practically locked up at the lake house. There is no way Pepper or Rhodey would ever let him leave. Unless… He looks back up at his captor. “Where are my phones?”

“Don’t worry, we have them. Well, we have one of them.” The man bends over to set the tray on the ground. “The regular phone had to be destroyed because it had a complex tracking device on it that we couldn’t disable. The one you were talking to Stark on, my colleague has. He’s using it to communicate with Stark. Eat up for now. We’ll let you know what happens. If we get the stones, we’ll probably let you go. Otherwise, you may be here awhile.” He presses a button on a tiny remote in his hand, and the door opens again. He watches Peter to make sure he doesn’t move before he carefully backs out of the room, and the door closes again. 

Alone once more, all Peter can hear is his own breathing and the blood still pounding in his ears. This is bad—really, really bad. These are apparently the guys who are looking for Mr Stark. Or maybe there are more than one group who want the stones. He wouldn’t be surprised. The only problem is that Mr Stark does not have the stones. There is no way they’re going to let Peter out ever. And he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Mr Stark. He would rather die himself than let that happen. 

Fortunately, he saw the thickness of the door when it opened, and it was only a few feet wide. Sure, that’s one really thick cement door with probably a super tough lock on it, but he’s lifted a collapsed building off of himself before. Depending on what the door is reinforced with, he may be able to budge it. The good news is that the kidnapper guy didn’t seem all that threatening or scary. Then again, maybe he’s not the boss. Peter would have to be careful. He had no idea what was on the other side of the door, or where they were camped out. He also didn’t know if there was a camera in the room, but if they were using any kind of up to date technology, maybe, being that he was kind of out of date with things in the last five years, he wouldn’t even notice it. Maybe it blended in with the ceiling, and he’d never see it even if he climbed up there and looked.

He doesn’t know what’s in the food they left for him—he might have already been drugged—but there’s a small package of oreos that are wrapped, so he goes for those. Not really nutritious, but they’re filled with calories, and it’ll work for now. He eats them quickly and then sizes up the door.

First, he presses his ear to the tiny crack to see if he can hear anything. He’s surprised when he can, but it’s just muffled voices. They are so muffled, that he can’t discern who is speaking or if they all have accents or not. That means that they most likely aren’t right outside the door. And if they had a camera in the room, they probably would be because he’s acting sort of suspicious with his head against the wall.

He doesn’t know what he’s going to do if he actually does manage to get out. He doesn’t know if there are traps set up for him on the other side of the door. All he knows is that he has to try because he can’t let Mr Stark get hurt. 

So he places his palms on the door and braces his feet. “You can do this,” he says under his breath and then pushes with everything he’s got.

~*~

Flying high above the small town of Rock Hill, New York, Tony’s heart is racing in his chest. He’s not sure what’s waiting for him at the old bank. All he knows is that he has to get Peter out of there safely. He just wishes he had another week or so to recover before this all happened. 

“FRIDAY, scan the area around the bank. I need to know if anyone is there lying in wait.”

“Of course, boss,” FRIDAY’s voice comes through his earpiece. “There are four heat signatures inside the bank, and two on the outside. The two on the outside appear to be hiding in the shrubs.”

Tony lowers himself just above a small wooded area, and touches down between some trees. If they are watching for him, he doesn’t want to cause a scene. He also doesn’t want to get spotted in the air, because based on what he’s seen on TV and read in the news, the whole world thinks he’s dead. He doesn’t want to cause any heart attacks. 

“Names and faces, FRI,” he says, making his way to the edge of the trees and peeking across a small retail area where he can see the bank several blocks down.

Two pictures appear on the left side of his HUD. The first one is that of Sam Wilson, and the second is of course, Bucky Barnes. Tony isn’t sure if he should be happy or not. Their presence could mean several things. For one, they could be in cahoots with whomever took Peter. Then again, they could have caught wind of Peter’s disappearance elsewhere and are trying to recover him themselves. The latter seems the most likely, but he wants to be a hundred percent sure before he reveals himself.

“There is some sort of barrier around the bank,” FRIDAY says. “I’m not able to get information on the identities inside.”

“FRIDAY, be a dear and call Happy for me, will you?”

There’s a pause. “You’re not supposed to make any phone calls, sir.”

“Yeah, and I wasn’t supposed to leave the lake house either, but here we are. The call, FRI.”

“Calling Happy Hogan.”

It only rings a half of a ring before Happy picks up and says, “Pepper is going to murder you. Where the _fuck_ are you?”

“Is that any way to speak to your employer?” Tony asks, his voice sounding as innocent as he has the ability to make it. “Honestly, Hap. I’m trying to rescue my kid. What do you want me to do? Just sit on my hands?”

“That’s what I figured,” Happy replies, his voice with just a tiny bit less bite to it. “How did you find out anyway?”

Tony thinks that they probably don’t want to know about the spider devices, so he decides not to give up that information. “Long story. Look, I just got here, and FRIDAY tells me that Wilson and Barnes are here, too—prowling around the perimeter of the building. You know anything about that?”

Happy sighs. “Yeah, I didn’t know who else to call.”

“How about me?”

“You are supposed to be recovering, Tony. I don’t even know how you got out of there under everyone’s noses. Most of the other Avengers are either with their families on vacation, or not even on Earth. So what was I supposed to do?”

“Okay, fine. But they’re about to get a little shock when they see me. And that’s your fault, got it? Also, we’re going to have a long conversation later about how this even happened in the first place. You were supposed to be watching out for Peter.”

“Just go do what you gotta do, okay? And try not to cause any hysterics in the process.” His voice lowers to a whisper, “I’m already dealing with that here. So bring the kid back safe and sound, and then all of us will live.”

“Okay, okay, got it. Call Pepper and tell her I’m okay, will you? I kind of left her a really short note.”

“Already heard about it. Don’t worry, I’ll tell her. Now go get that kid!”

“On it. End call. FRIDAY, I need to be in stealth mode. I hope the bugs are all worked out for that. These rescue missions during the middle of the day are going to attract all sorts of attention otherwise.”

“Activating stealth mode,” FRIDAY says and the nanobots of Tony’s suit shift to reflective particles. He holds his hands in front of himself and can see that it’s not making him one hundred percent invisible, but the cameras on either side are now showing the opposite side of each part of him, creating an illusion that he’s almost see through. “I guess that’s good enough,” he says. “We’ll have to work on it more later, though. Now let’s go.”

He makes his way down the block, and doesn’t encounter much, save for a few sedate looking office buildings and a couple cars driving by. No one notices him, so he sits down on the bench at the bus stop across from the old bank. 

“Are we able to hack into their coms? I’d like to say hello before they see me.”

“Yes, boss. Just a moment.” There’s a slight pause, and then FRIDAY says, “Okay, now you should have access. I have the connection open.”

Tony feels a little nervous, but his best bet at getting Peter out of there is to have help. As much as he’d just like to blow a hole and the door, find Peter, and fly him home, he knows from experience that having help goes a long way. So he’s trying to be patient. 

“Hello, boys. This is your conscience,” Tony says. “Just kidding, it’s me. I’m not really dead. Now let’s figure out a way to get inside this building and save my kid before those losers figure out we’re here.”

Sam’s face appears from just above the bushes. “Excuse me, what?”

“I know it’s a shock,” Tony goes on. “But look over at the bench by the bus stop for a second. FRIDAY turn off stealth mode for three seconds starting now.” The nanobots flip to their regular material, and Tony waves to the bushes before they quickly flip back around and he’s hidden once again. 

“I think there’s something wrong with me,” Bucky says quietly, the top of his head just barely rising above the bushes. “I swore I just saw Iron Man there.”

Sam gives him a push and then looks back to Tony. “Let’s see your face, Stark. I’m not about to get fooled by something weird.”

Tony sighs and retracts his helmet for just a few seconds. It must look pretty strange with his body not showing up but then his face appearing above a bench. “There. Convinced? I can show you my scars and my prosthetic arm later if you still don’t believe me.”

“Oh, no,” Bucky says. “We have something in common.”

“Yes, and now we have a common mission,” Tony says, standing up. “To save Peter Parker from whatever punks have kidnapped him. You in?”

Both their heads disappear back into the bushes, and it’s quiet for what feels like forever. At last, Tony hears Sam clear his throat. “We all have the same goal, so of course we’re in. We’ve been trying to figure out a way to get in this place without any detection. Got any ideas?”

“FRIDAY says there is some kind of unknown technology preventing us from scanning the inside of the building, but I have the blueprints from when it was built, so that should give us a road map of sorts. There are three entrances to the building, including the front door, the rear door, and the one to your left. I’m assuming they’re locked. Have you tried them?” Tony says while he makes his way across the street. 

“So here’s the plan,” Sam says, his eyes shining at Tony through the bushes. “I fly over the building to get a good look at the roof, then, I come down hard, crashing through the roof. They’ll be so distracted from the crash, that they won’t notice Bucky force his way into the side door. I’ll distract the baddies while Bucky gets Peter.”

While Sam has been talking, Tony has made his way to the side door. “Or we could just go in.”

Both their heads snap to the left where Tony is standing, still completely in stealth mode, beside the open door. Bucky flinches pretty hard, but Sam’s gaze is wide and steady.

“Revised plan,” Tony says. “I’ll rescue the kid, and you two distract the kidnappers.”

There’s a little argument over logistics, but eventually, everyone comes to agreement, and they file into the old bank. It feels strange to Tony to technically be on a mission with his old teammates. He’s considered himself retired long before Peter and everyone else came back. And considering that he hasn’t really had any interaction with them in what very well might be about ten years, it’s all a little strange and nostalgic at the same time. Clearly there’s some bad blood between him and Bucky, but he’s not about to address that now or maybe ever. All he really cares about is getting Peter out of this building alive, and if he has help, then he’ll take it.

Once Sam and Bucky make their way down a long hallway and out of sight, Tony takes in a breath. He knows they very well may have triggered some sort of silent alarm on the security surrounding the building, so he may only have a few minutes to locate Peter and get him out of there.

“FRIDAY,” he whispers to his AI. “Any luck with identifications on those four heat signatures now that we’re inside?”

“Three have blocks still. The fourth one is Peter Parker. Would you like to know his location, Boss?”

Tony pauses for a few seconds with his hand on the wall to take a few calming breaths. That means Peter is alive. He’s not too late. Everything will be fine. He just has to find Peter and get the hell out of this place. “Of course, FRI,” he says, resuming his way. “Lead the way.”

~*~

Peter has been trying to push open the vault door for what feels like forever. He’s tired and sweaty and drained and his head is pounding, but he still keeps pushing. He takes off his shoes so he can stick better to the cement floor to gain some traction while he pushes, but he still only manages to budge it a few centimeters. 

He’s leaning against the cement door, trying to catch his breath and work up some more strength when he hears some movement outside of the vault. Part of him wants to press his ear up to the crack in the cement, but another part of him thinks he should probably go back to the cot and pretend to sleep. He’s still deciding what he should do when he hears a voice.

“Hey. Hey! Stop walking so fast!” 

A second voice replies, “We have to find them quickly. Now come on.”

Their footsteps disappear down the hallway. Their voices sounded vaguely familiar, and they do not have an accent like the kidnapper he met before. Both voices had American accents. Could it be it was someone coming to rescue him? He feels an immense sense of relief that it’s not Mr Stark. Maybe he can get out of this prison and go home soon. Maybe Mr Stark doesn’t even know he’s missing and is still just fine at the lake house. Maybe everything will be okay.

Then he hears a different type of footstep against the floor in the hallway. It’s softer than the previous ones, but there’s a distinct metal clink every time it touches the hard surface of the ground. And then it stops.

“Peter,” he hears Mr Stark say softly. “You in there?”

“Mr Stark!” Peter says, his voice almost breaking. “What are you doing here? Are you okay?”

There’s a pause that’s long enough to make Peter’s hands tremble. Is Mr Stark okay? Why isn’t he replying?

“I can’t really hear you, bud, but I’m guessing you can hear me,” Mr Stark finally says. “Step away from the door. I’m gonna blast you out of there. Then we’re going to run. On the count of three, okay?”

Peter grabs his shoes from where they’re sitting on the floor in front of the vault door and hurries over to the side, rushing to slide them back onto his feet. If they’re going to run, he needs to be prepared. Then again, he’s not sure how fast Mr Stark can run. When he last saw him, he was finally able to walk normally again. He must have improved a lot in two weeks. 

A million thoughts are racing through Peter’s mind when the blast goes off. It’s so deafeningly loud, he has to cover his ears with his hands, and even then, they’re ringing so loudly, he can’t hear much of anything else. It definitely doesn’t help his migraine. Then again, he doesn’t really care about migraines or his hearing when he sees Mr Stark step through the hole in the door in his Iron Man suit. 

Peter throws his arms around his neck, hugging him so tightly he’s afraid he might make a few dents in the suit.

“Okay, okay,” Mr Stark says, his helmet retracting to reveal his face. “I missed you too, buddy. But we have to get out of here. That explosion was loud, and they’re going to know I’m here. Come on, let’s move.”

When they pull apart, Mr Stark’s eyes are big and worried. He places his suit covered hand gently on the side of Peter’s face. “Are you okay?”

Peter nods and wipes at a tear that’s made its way down his cheek. “Let’s get out of here.”


	18. Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Can we please go home?” Peter asks, his voice broken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry! I meant to post this last week but I just couldn't get in the right frame of mind to edit it. One more chapter after this, guys!! Thank you again for your comments and kudos! I'm going to go reply to comments now. Love you guys! <3

Tony and Peter climb over the rubble left in the doorway from the repulsor blast and begin to make their way down the hall. Tony hates to admit it, and he won’t out loud until they’re safe and sound, but his body is aching. He’s been on bed rest for so long that even his physical therapy didn’t prepare him for running away from kidnappers. He needs to push through for Peter though, so he does.

“Wilson, Barnes,” he says into the comm when they reach the end of the hall. “I’ve got the kid. Get out as soon as possible. FRIDAY sent a call out to SHIELD so they can wrap it up here.”

“Uh,” Sam replies in a whisper. “Bad news, Stark. We were the ones SHIELD sent. But backup would be great. First priority is to get the kid out of here.”

Tony grabs Peter’s wrist and pulls him around the corner. “You okay, Pete? Once we get outside we’re gonna fly. Think you can hang on?”

“Are Sam and Bucky actually here?” Peter asks, looking at Tony with big eyes like that was all he heard from that conversation.

“Yeah,” Tony says when they get to the door at the end of the hallway. It’s the unlocked one that they had broken in through, and Tony is counting on it being their exit as well. “My cover is blown. But if we catch these guys, then maybe it doesn’t matter.” He tries the handle but it’s locked, so he backs up and powers up his repulsor.

“Wait!” Peter says and lunges for the handle. He turns it so hard, that it twists off and the door pops open. He drops the handle, letting it clatter to the ground. “Let’s go!”

“Stop!” a voice yells. 

“Stealth mode now, FRI!” Tony whispers, watching as Peter jumps up to stick to the ceiling and retreats into the shadows above the door. 

A man with long brown hair that looks like it hasn’t been washed in days and pale skin that probably hasn’t seen the sun in a long time comes barreling around the corner and pointing a strange gun in their general direction. “Don’t move,” he says. “I know you’re there. Make one move to exit the building, and I’m going to blast you out of existence.” 

Tony is starting to sweat. He doesn’t know how he’s going to get himself and Peter out of the building without the guy seeing him. The reflection on the nanobot panels are good, but the light is slightly different, and if one knows where to look, one would definitely notice something off. Also, Peter will be completely visible when he comes down from the ceiling. He wishes Peter had a stealth mode in his suit, but that didn’t even matter right now because he doesn’t even have the suit with him. They’ll have to figure out a different way to get out of this mess. 

“Don’t move until I say,” he says under his breath to Peter in a whisper so low he knows that only Peter will hear it. “On the count of three, I need you to swing kick the door open and then we’re both going to move to the left.”

“I know you’re there,” the man says, cocking the weapon. “Reveal yourself and come forward with your hands up or I’m gonna shoot.”

Tony swallows hard. While he’s completely protected from a bullet in his suit, Peter is not. “On the count of three,” he repeats quietly to Peter. “One. Two—”

And then seemingly from the air, a body falls on top of the greasy haired man, and the two of them are sent into a hard pile on the floor, the gunman’s face smushed into the cement floor by a vibranium arm.

“Go!” Bucky yells, his head raising up to look in their direction.

Peter swings down and kicks the door open, just like they planned. With the gunman down, it’s fairly easy for Tony to duck around the corner and meet Peter outside. 

Peter is breathing hard, and in the daylight, Tony can really see the cuts and bruises and dried blood all over him. His t-shirt even has some rips in it, and there is blood in his hair. In short, he’s a mess. So he does what any dad would do, he gathers his kid in his arms and pats his back. They’ll have to talk about what happened later on.

“Can we please go home?” Peter asks, his voice broken.

“Yes,” he says, answering Peter’s question. “FRIDAY, you heard the kid. Set a route back to the lake house. Pete, you’re going to have to get on my back and use all your stickiness to hang on. It’s a little bit of a ride. Think you can do it?”

Peter nods, and Tony gets down on his left knee while Peter climbs on his back. He checks three times to make sure Peter has a tight hold, and then they take off, soaring up into the sky. 

~*~

They land in the front yard of the lake house, and Peter immediately unsticks himself and climbs down from Mr Stark’s back. In no time at all, Mr Stark has tapped the front of his suit, and the nano bots, all except his prosthetic arm, are working their way back into the arch reactor. 

“Are you okay, Mr Stark?” Peter asks, looking him over. “You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

“If I look a little tired, it’s because of all the stress you put me through, Underoos.” Mr Stark puts his hand on Peter’s shoulder and guides him to turn a little. “Also, I should be asking you that question. You were basically being held ransom for an ugly set of jewelry that doesn’t technically exist in this timeline anymore.”

“I’m okay. Ouch!” he says when Mr Stark’s fingers find the bump on the back of his head. “That’s gonna heal in like two hours. I’m fine, I swear. I just probably need a nap or something.”

“Uh huh,” Mr Stark says, his fingers falling from the bump and coming to rest on Peter’s other shoulder. “I think I’d feel better if a doctor looked at that. But I’ll let the others arrange that. I’m probably in huge trouble.” He leans closer to Peter while they walk towards the house and says in a low voice, “Pepper’s going to be pissed at me.”

Mr Stark may think that Pepper is going to be pissed, and maybe she is, but she definitely doesn’t look it when she throws open the front door, and she and Rhodey spill out. Her eyes are red from crying, and Peter doesn’t think he’s ever seen her so upset before. She makes a beeline to them and puts one arm around each of them, pulling them into a frantic hug.

“You’re both okay?” she says, her voice cracking. 

“Kid’s a little banged up. I want a doctor to look at him,” Mr Stark says, putting his arms around the two of them. “He’s got a pretty big lump on his head.”

Pepper pulls away a little to take Peter’s face in her hands. “You’re okay?” she asks again.

“I think so,” he says. “My head hurts a little, and I’m really tired.”

She puts her arm back around him, tucking him into her side before she looks at Mr Stark. “You’re not hurt at all? Tony, what happened? You can’t go running off like that. I almost passed out when I read that stupid note you had Morgan give me!”

By then, Rhodey is approaching them, and if looks could kill, Mr Stark would have died right there. “Tell me,” he demands before Mr Stark has a chance to respond to Pepper’s questions. “Tell me why you didn’t ask for my help. Tony, I could have gotten Peter out of there myself. There was no need for you to risk your safety.”

Mr Stark shrugs. “I knew you’d stop me. And you, too, Pepper. I had to make sure Peter was okay, myself. I didn’t go through all of this just to lose him again.”

Peter looks up from Pepper’s collarbone when Mr Stark’s voice cracks. 

“They wanted _me,_ ” Mr Stark goes on. “If I didn’t go, who knows what might have happened. I had to get him myself. And I would do it again a million times over. So don’t bother lecturing me. Either of you.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about us,” Pepper says. “Fury was here raising hell before Sam and Bucky tipped him off about what was happening. He said you’re as good as dead when he gets his hands on you.”

“Pfft, I’m not afraid of him.” Mr Stark tugs Peter away from Pepper. “You can yell at me later. Right now we need to get a doctor for Pete. He’s looking a little sleepy, and I’m worried he might have a concussion.”

Their voices are getting a little muffled, and Peter doesn’t even realize it until Mr Stark mentions it, but with his head against Mr Stark’s shoulder and his eyes closed, he had almost been asleep within seconds. The three adults help a sleepy Peter inside the cabin where they lead him to the couch, and he leans against Mr Stark while Pepper gets some first aid supplies.

“Where’s Morgan?” Peter asks when she returns with the first aid kit and a wet washcloth. 

“She cried herself to sleep,” Pepper says, gently wiping his face with the washcloth. “It’s not your fault, dear. Her daddy shouldn’t have involved her.”

“I’m really sorry about that,” Mr Stark says. “It was either that or take a chance you wouldn’t see the note.”

Pepper ignores him and continues to wash Peter’s face. “Looks like all these small abrasions have mostly healed,” she says. “It’s mostly dirt and some dry blood coming off. I’m so glad you heal so quickly.”

Peter closes his eyes and rests his head against Mr Stark’s shoulder. The warm cloth on his face feels nice. “Mm hmm,” he mumbles, closing his eyes. 

“Look at these, Tony,” Pepper says, picking up one of Peter’s arms. “They had him restrained. It’s healing really nicely, I just can't believe anyone would do this to Peter!”

Peter feels Mr Stark’s arm wrap warmly around him while Pepper begins treating his wrists. He normally would protest and tell Pepper he can do that himself, but he’s just too sleepy to bother. 

“I should have done something,” Mr Stark says softly. “I should have fought to keep him here. He wanted to stay to protect me, but I should have kept him here to protect him. I never would have forgiven myself if something happened to him. I couldn’t have survived it a second time.”

“Shh,” Pepper hushes, tucking Peter’s arms back against him. “There was nothing you could have done. I know you love Peter like your own, but you’re not his legal guardian.”

“Like hell there wasn’t anything I could do! I could have had you talk to May. We could have tried to convince her. I could have kept Peter here if I wanted to, even without May’s permission. I could have made sure—” 

“Stop!” Pepper says, smoothing down Peter’s unruly locks when he opens his eyes only to quickly let them drift closed again. “Tony. You didn’t know what was going to happen, so you can’t blame yourself for decisions you made before you knew. You did what you thought was best at the time. So I’m not going to let you blame yourself.”

Mr Stark rubs Peter’s arm. “I’ll blame myself if I—”

“Question,” Rhodey’s voice suddenly says.

Peter opens his eyes to see Rhodey standing before them with a phone up to his ear.

“Peter, the doctor wants to know how long ago you hit your head.”

“I don’t know,” Peter says, looking to Mr Stark for some help. “I don’t even remember it. I was walking to Happy’s car, and the next thing I remember is waking up in the vault. Mr Stark, how long ago did you find me? It was maybe thirty minutes or an hour before that when I woke up.”

“I guess about two hours ago,” Mr Stark says, looking a little irritated. “Is the doctor going to actually come here and look at him, or is he just going to ask questions over the phone?”

“Calm down,” Rhodey says, his brows furrowing while he looks down at Mr Stark. “He’s coming, he just needs to know how urgent the situation is.” 

Peter can hear the doctor on the end of the call due to his far better than average senses, so when Rhodey repeats it, he closes his eyes again.

“The doctor says due to his unusually speedy healing, if it were anything really serious, he would be unconscious by now. He probably just has a concussion and will need to sleep it off. But he’ll be here in twenty minutes to look him over.”

“Thanks, Rhodey,” Mr Stark says, pulling Peter closer and resting the side of his head against the top of Peter’s. 

The adults in the room continue to discuss what to do, but Peter doesn’t hear them anymore and finally allows himself to drift off.

~*~

“I need to borrow your phone,” Tony says, holding out his prosthetic hand when Pepper returns from the kitchen with two glasses of water and sets them on the coffee table. “I need to call May and let her know that Peter’s alright.”

Pepper straightens up and looks down at him, hesitating. 

“Come on, Pep,” Tony says, gesturing that she should hand it over. “What does it matter if I make a phone call? SHIELD knows I broke the rules, and they found the guys who were after me. So will you please let me call May?”

Pepper sighs and fishes her phone out of her pocket. “I guess your cover is officially blown anyway,” she mumbles, handing over the phone and then stepping away. “I’m going to make Peter something to eat for when he wakes up. He’s probably going to be really hungry.”

Tony agrees and then when she disappears around the corner, he looks down at Peter who is dozing soundly against his shoulder. He’s still worried, but the kid’s breathing seems relaxed and normal, so he must be okay. At least for now. 

He can’t really operate the phone with his prosthetic hand because the nanobots don’t work with the touch screen, so he holds it up to his actual hand and finds May’s contact in Pepper’s address book. It rings for a half of a second before he hears May’s frantic voice on the phone.

“Pepper?” she says. “Did you hear anything?”

“May, it’s me,” he says. “It’s Tony. I need you to sit down.”

“Oh god,” she cries. 

“Are you sitting?”

Her voice sounds spent when she says, “I guess.”

“I’ve got Peter here. He’s okay. He’s been through something kinda weird, but I think he was unconscious for most of it. He’s okay. There’s a SHIELD doctor on their way to check him over. A few bumps and bruises and a pretty big lump on his head, but other than that, he’s fine.” He kisses the top of Peter’s head because just talking about it is upsetting. He knows what it’s like to be without this precious child, and so does May. He may be mad at himself for not keeping Peter at the lake house, but he also knows that he could never keep Peter away from May either. It hits him that Pepper is right. He did absolutely everything he thought was for the best at the time.

May can’t talk much because she’s crying, but he does hear the words, “Oh, thank God.” 

There’s a shuffling sound for a moment, and then Tony hears Happy’s voice on the other line. “You got the kid? Is he okay?”

“He’s fine. Well, maybe he’s got a concussion. A SHIELD doctor is on the way here to check him over. Hey, Hap?”

“You okay, too, Tony?” Happy says. “Nothing too awful went down, did it?”

“Check your crew. When Peter and I left, they were trying to wrap things up. They’re probably fine, and I’m sure SHIELD is handling it by now, but I would definitely check up on them.” He pauses when Peter stirs a little. It only takes a few seconds for him to settle back down, and he continues in a softer voice, “As for me, I’m maybe a little tired, but I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me. But I think you should drive May up here. Secret’s out. Those assholes are hopefully being bagged and tagged by now, and we won’t have much to worry about anymore. I’d just feel a lot better if everyone were under one roof.”

“Okay, I don’t think that’ll take too much convincing. See you in a few hours. And keep that kid safe.”

“I won’t let him out of my sight,” Tony promises. “See you soon.”

~*~

When Peter wakes up, there’s a stranger squatting down in front of him, and he jumps a little, but Mr Stark holds him tightly. 

“It’s alright, buddy,” Mr Stark says in a gentle voice. “This is Dr Weiland. He works for SHIELD, and he’s just going to make sure that bump to your head wasn’t too bad.”

“Okay, yeah,” Peter says, forcing himself to relax. 

The doctor asks him a bunch of questions he can’t really answer because he doesn’t have any memory about what happened, so then he starts asking some easier ones. Like how does Peter feel and what hurts. He does a full neurological exam and then lets Peter drink the glass of water that Pepper had left on the coffee table.

“So he’s a little dehydrated,” the doctor says, rising to a standing position and watching Peter gulp down the water. “And he’s got some minor lacerations and abrasions, but those seem to be healing very well. As for his head, he definitely has a moderate concussion. With his healing rate, I’m sure he’ll be fine. Just make sure he rests and takes it easy for at least a week. He’ll need to drink plenty of fluids and get a lot of sleep. It would be completely expected that he would have a mild headache while it’s healing, so if that happens, I wouldn’t be too concerned.”

Mr Stark takes the empty glass from Peter and sets it back on the coffee table. “We can do all that. His aunt is coming up to help, too. He’s going to be the most spoiled kid ever.”

The doctor smiles at him and hands over a business card. “If his headache is so bad he can’t sleep, he starts vomiting, or if he shows any signs of confusion, call me right away. I’m the doctor on call this week, so I can pop by just as quickly as I did today if I’m needed.”

After the doctor shakes Mr Stark’s and Peter’s hands, he bids his farewell. 

Peter leans back against Mr Stark’s shoulder the second the front door closes. “I can stay here for at least two weeks, right?” he asks cuddling back in. 

“Well, we’ll probably have to get up from the couch at some point,” Mr Stark says.

Peter closes his eyes and frowns. Mr Stark definitely knew what he meant, but he decides to make it clear to him anyway. “I meant at the lake house.”

“Your aunt is on her way. We’ll talk to her about it when she gets here.”


	19. Some Mad Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re a member of this family, Pete,” Mr Stark says, his arms going securely around him.

“I want to show you something I’ve been working on while you were gone. Just finished it yesterday, actually,” Mr Stark says, pausing at the staircase on their way to tuck Peter in for a nap. 

“Can it wait?” Peter asks, rubbing his eyes. “I’m really tired.”

Mr Stark smiles. “That’s part of the surprise. Come upstairs with me.”

Peter has never actually seen Mr Stark climb the stairs in the lake house before, so at first he thinks part of the surprise is the fact that he can now get up the stairs fairly easily, even though it’s just a little bit slow. But when Mr Stark doesn’t pause or say anything about it and continues on down the hallway, Peter realizes that it’s not the surprise, so he continues to follow him. Even though his head is sore and could probably take a nap right there in the hallway, he’s definitely curious as to what the surprise is.

He stops at the door at the end of the hall and turns to smile at a sleepy Peter who is somewhat lagging behind him. 

“Isn’t this Happy’s room?” Peter asks, stopping before the door.

“Yep. Or, it was Happy’s room.” Mr Stark has his hand on the doorknob, but he doesn’t push it open just yet. “I had a little chat with him, and we came to an agreement. Since you kind of had to give up your bedroom in Queens, maybe he should have to make a little sacrifice here.”

Peter blinks at him. He thinks he knows what the surprise is now, but doesn’t want to make any assumptions just in case he’s wrong. “What kind of a sacrifice?”

Mr Stark pushes the door open. “Nothing big. I just thought he could use the guest room downstairs from now on. I have someone else in mind for this bedroom. Why don’t you check it out?”

Peter takes a tentative step inside, keeping his hand on the doorframe for grounding. The walls are painted a dusty blue and the windows are framed by thick, navy curtains to match the bedspread. Sitting on top of the bed are several decorative Star Wars pillows to go along with the posters above a brand new desk against the far wall. There’s also a large television and two dressers, and everything else a bedroom would need. Clearly, Mr Stark had it made up for him, and his heart is soaring. He already felt like he belonged there, but now he has a place—a room—just for himself. 

He turns and throws his arms around Mr Stark, burying his face into his shoulder and biting back tears. 

“You’re a member of this family, Pete,” Mr Stark says, his arms going securely around him. “I want you here as much as possible, so it only makes sense you have your own official room.”

Peter grins. “Thanks, Mr Stark.”

“And now that I can get up the stairs on my own,” Mr Stark says. “I’ll be just down the hall if you need me.”

~*~

Peter spends the afternoon napping hard. When he wakes up in his new room with a little headache, he isn’t really surprised because the doctor said to expect it, but he’s still not super happy about it. He comes out of his room and walks down the stairs with his hand on his head, and he’s immediately assaulted by a four year old who is clinging tightly to his legs. 

“I thought you were never going to wake up,” Morgan says, looking up at him with tears in her eyes. “I missed you so much.”

He reaches down to pick her up and gathers her into his arms, holding her tightly and squeezing his eyes shut while he rocks her a little. “I missed you too, Morgan.”

She pulls back after a moment. “Are you okay? Daddy said you have an owie on your head. Can I see it? Is it bleeding?”

“I think it stopped bleeding.” He reaches back with his hand to touch the bump, and while it’s still tender, the swelling is almost completely gone. “Here, give me your hand. I’ll let you feel it if you promise to be really gentle.”

“I promise!” she says, reaching around his head to where his hand is guiding hers. “Oh, it’s a little bump,” she says. “Does it hurt?”

He smiles. “Not much. I’ll probably be feeling much better tomorrow.”

“If you get lots and lots of rest,” Mr Stark says from where he’s sitting on the couch. “Come here, Pete. Let me look at your head.”

Peter sets Morgan down and goes to sit beside Mr Stark right when there’s a knock at the door. Whoever is there, doesn’t wait to be granted access and opens the door anyway. But of course, it’s only Happy and May.

“We’re here!” Happy says, shouldering their bags and letting May walk in before him. 

“Never mind,” Mr Stark says to Peter. “Go hug your aunt first.”

Peter doesn’t know why he suddenly feels so emotional when he sees her standing at the door, her eyes a little red from crying and her arms held out towards him. He runs to her and lets her hold him while he buries his face into her shoulder and tries to get a handle on his tears.

“Are you alright?” she asks tearfully, pulling back to look at him, her hands on either side of his face much like Pepper had done earlier that day.

“I’m okay,” he says softly. “Just a little headache, but I’m okay.”

She pulls him back into her arms and kisses the side of his head. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” she says, gently stroking his hair. “My heart feels like it’s in a million pieces.”

Peter is kind of in a weird position being Spider-man. It’s who he is, and he can’t change it. And now with his connections to Mr Stark and the Avengers, or what’s left of them, there is no way he can avoid danger. Not all the time, anyway. So he doesn’t reassure his aunt. Instead, he just holds her tightly.

Pepper comes out of the kitchen with Morgan close behind her to greet the newcomers. There are hugs all around, and snacks and drinks are brought out to celebrate the safe homecoming of both Mr Stark and Peter. Peter hopes May isn’t offended when he reclaims his spot beside Mr Stark on the couch.

“So,” May says, stirring the ice cubes in her drink with her straw and then looking up at Mr Stark. “I’ve known for a while, but this is really the first time we’ve talked since it all happened. How are you doing?”

“Not counting today?” Mr Stark says, glancing at Peter. “I’ve been alright. It was a long road, but everyone here helped out, and I’m stronger now because of it. So thanks, everyone. I love you all.”

“That sounds like some sort of acceptance speech,” Pepper mumbles and reaches for some chips from the bowl on the coffee table. “We love you, too, but why don’t you tell us how you found out where Peter was today. We’re all on the edge of our seats.”

“Um…” Mr Stark looks at Peter with a nervous smile. 

Peter opens his mouth, wondering if he should do something. This was supposed to be something they didn’t tell anyone about. If anyone finds out about those spider devices, they might both be in really big trouble. 

But Mr Stark just pats him on the shoulder and shakes his head. “Not really looking forward to telling you all this, but I wasn’t really able to handle Peter being completely gone for two weeks, so I sort of cheated on the no communication thing.”

Peter notices that by the language he uses, Mr Stark is taking all the blame for what happened. Which isn’t really fair because he’s pretty sure that he was freaking out even more than Mr Stark was. 

“ _What_?” Pepper and Rhodey say in unison, their eyes wide and their jaws hanging. Clearly, neither of them had expected that to be the answer.

“Look,” Mr Stark speaks up before either one of them can formulate their lecture. “I understand that Peter is not my biological child. I even understand that I don’t have any sort of legal right to him, but he is my kid. We’ve been through a hell of a lot together, and it was traumatic for both of us to be separated with absolutely no communication yet again.” He shrugs and then puts his arm around Peter, giving him a tight squeeze. “So I fixed it.”

It’s silent for a good thirty seconds before Pepper clears her throat. “Fury is not going to be happy about this.”

“Oh, yeah?” Mr Stark says. “Well, fuck Fury. He doesn’t get to make decisions for my family. I do. I mean we do.” He uses his prosthetic arm to gesture between himself and Pepper before looking at May. “And May, you and I do for Peter. Sorry I didn’t inform you about this, but I technically couldn’t, so…”

“Okay, okay,” Rhodey stands up with Morgan in his arms. “I think it’s time for someone to go to bed before any other inappropriate language is used.”

“I got it. I’ve missed this little kid.” Happy stands up and takes Morgan from Rhodey. 

Morgan grins at him. “I’m a _big_ kid, Uncle Happy.”

“Well, how about we let you do the reading tonight then, huh?” Happy hoists her up a little in his arms. “Say goodnight to everyone.”

Morgan insists on being let down so she can give every single person in the room a hug goodnight. It’s at that moment, when Morgan is squeezing him tightly and Mr Stark’s hand is steady on his back, that Peter realizes how much they’re both loved by so many great people in their lives. He feels so utterly lucky to not be biologically related to anyone in the room yet still have the love of them all. Mr Stark knows that sometimes family is made by other things besides blood, and Peter is so happy that he and May have been included into his family.

“Goodnight, kiddo,” he says, bopping her lightly on the nose. “Sweet dreams.”

“You’ll be here in the morning, right?” she asks, looking up at him with big eyes.

“Well, I might be sleeping when you get up, but don’t worry. I’ll be here.”

She looks up at her dad, placing her hands on his knee. “And you’ll be here, too, Daddy? And you won’t leave like you did today?”

“I’m here to stay, Morgan.” Mr Stark leans forward to kiss her forehead. “Sorry about today, but I brought Peter home, right?”

She nods solemnly. “It’s okay. I’m glad Petey is home, so I forgive you.”

“Alright, let’s go,” Happy says, holding his hand out to her. “Book time.”

She takes his hand and smiles around the room. “Goodnight, everyone!”

Once Happy leads Morgan safely up the stairs, around the corner, and out of earshot, Pepper clears her throat. “Tony, this conversation isn't over. I know you did what you thought was right. You always do what you think is right, and that’s fine, it’s just that you need to understand that you might be in some major trouble with SHIELD. They know about Peter, as well, so we might all be in trouble.”

Rhodey sighs. “I’m going to get something to drink from the kitchen,” he says, looking over at May. “You want to join me?”

She shakes her head. “No thanks. I need to hear more about what happened.” Her gaze turns on Peter while Rhodey leaves the room. “Tell us everything. Now.”

So they do. Well, it’s mostly Mr Stark talking because Peter’s head is still a little sore and actually feels kind of foggy. He can think okay for the most part, but he’s tired, and it’s hard to put long sentences together. He mostly listens while Mr Stark tells them about the spider device and the purpose of it. He even gives them little snippets about what they talked about.

“See?” Mr Stark says, shrugging a little. “We were just talking about normal things. I missed him every day he was gone. And I mean every single day. I am not going to waste any more time not having him in my life. I hope that’s one hundred percent clear to all of you.”

Pepper sighs. “Yeah. It most definitely is clear. In the future, I wouldn’t even dream of it. And honestly, looking back, I wish there was something different we could have done, but I guess it’s mostly over now. We’ll have to deal with Fury and SHIELD when they make a house call tomorrow morning, but I did get word that the kidnappers are being detained. Unless there is some other group out to get to you, then it looks like we’re mostly in the clear.”

“There better not be!” Mr Stark says, reaching for his soda and taking a drink. “I don’t mind being here. This is my home, after all, and I love each and every one of you, but the thought of never being able to leave is suffocating. I’m glad that’s over. So when Fury gets here tomorrow, I’ll deal with him and whatever else they have for me. Worse things by far have happened, and I’m not afraid of him.”

Peter, on the other hand, is a little afraid. He doesn’t want Mr Stark to be in trouble, and he doesn’t want Mr Stark to go to some SHIELD jail. He heard about how some of the other Avengers were there in the past, and he definitely does not want that to happen to Mr Stark. He’s clutching the bowl of pretzels and staring down into all the twists when Mr Stark pats him on the back.

“Don’t worry, Pete. Everything’s going to be fine,” Mr Stark says softly. “They’ll be mad, but they can’t do anything to me. I give them too much money.”

“That is not a good lesson to learn, Tony,” Pepper says. “Honestly, bribing people.”

Mr Stark just grins at her. “It’s not a bribe if you give them money long before you want the favor. Then it’s just a favor.”

Pepper rolls her eyes while May laughs, and the tension goes down a little in the room. By then Rhodey is coming back with his refreshed drink, and they decide to turn on the news to see if anyone is covering the story of Mr Stark’s miraculous reappearance.

Peter isn’t really paying attention at first. He gives up his bowl of pretzels and is back to resting against Mr Stark’s shoulder when the newscaster begins to cover the subject they’ve all been waiting for.

“Breaking news today,” he says, looking into the camera. Up in the corner of the screen is a picture of Mr Stark. “Tony Stark has assumed to be dead these past three months. It has been confirmed by an inside source that he is in fact alive. More with Heather on the scene where all the drama took place.”

The video cuts to a reporter with auburn hair. She’s standing in front of the old bank building which has been taped off, and there are several cop cars in the distance, their lights flashing. “Believe it or not, it’s true,” she says. “Tony Stark was here rescuing his protege, Peter Parker, who had been kidnapped by three men, all of which were in search of the infinity stones. Mr Stark’s fellow Avengers, James Barnes and Sam Wilson were also present, and had this to say.”

It cuts to a clip of Bucky and Sam standing in front of a cop car from earlier in the day. “Yeah, we wrapped it up,” Sam says, looking away from the camera and at the building. “Stark was here, and I can confirm that it was him, alive and well. He mentioned something about missing an arm, but other than that he was fine. As for these guys—” He thumbs to the background of the shot where a cop is shoving one of the guys into the squad car. “They’re done. Here’s a newsflash. The infinity stones have been destroyed. So anyone coming after them, you’re going to be very disappointed and end up like these idiots. Probably a good idea to find something better to do with your time, am I right?”

The clip cuts back to Heather. “You heard it here first, folks. Sam Wilson, the new Captain America, confirms that the infinity stones have been destroyed. But there is one more interesting thing to come out of this story. Pay close attention to this footage of the perpetrators from shortly after our interview with Mr Wilson and Mr Barnes.”

And then the clip from earlier in the day returns. The second guy, one who Peter doesn’t recognize, is being led to the squad car, and the camera zooms in on his face. “You want some news?” the guy says, sneering. “I’ll give you some breaking news. Peter Parker, Stark’s precious intern, is actually Spider-man.”

The camera shakes a little and ends up focusing on the cement below the cameraman’s feet. Heather appears back on the screen and a graphic of Peter’s face alongside himself as Spider-man pops up in the corner. He doesn’t hear what she says, but he does notice the gasps in the room as well as Mr Stark’s arm tightening around his shoulders. 

It’s like he’s been punched in the stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.... sorry about the cliffhanger. I haven't started the sequel yet, but I'm planning it out now. I just really wanted to explore what happened at the end of Spider-Man Far from Home with Tony being there to help Peter through it. So that's what you have to look forward to!
> 
> Be sure to click on the title of this series (Weight of it All) and subscribe so you can be updated when I begin posting the sequel!
> 
> Thank you all for going on this journey with me! I appreciate each and every one of your comments and kudos and bookmarks, and I love you all! <3 You can always bother me on tumblr! [duskblue-art](https://duskblue-art.tumblr.com/) I not only write irondad stuff, but I also draw it, so there's that :D


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